ArmaRagnaGeddonRock-yer-Yuga!

[masque]

this was my second-born concept (of four actually begun) for the Gods at War Thunderdome, and i got well into it before mussing out and deciding it was too far afield from the "at War" brief, but nonetheless worthy of finishing. sort of a wryly affectionate homage to the goofiness of human imagination. inspired somewhat by a couple of song lyrics:

"..but actually, all them gods is just about the same."
-- John Prine, Pretty Good

"...just a slob like one of us..."
-- Joan Osbourne, If God Were One of Us

and all those wonderfully wacky myths. enjoy!

[Simon Boxer]

Very nice rendering, Masque, and good combination of elements. My only crit is that the two women on the bottom left are weaker than the rest. The egyptian (?) woman's head looks out of perspective and their facial expressions don't seem very natural. Perhaps it would help if they were looking at each other.

Other than that, this is one fine illustration (and page design).

[masque]

thanks, cognition! the femme fracas was tough, some tricky (for me) foreshortening, and i wanted the reaction to Freyja's left hook to be very dramatic, hence the radical twist in Bastet's neck. WHAP! maybe not as successful as i'd thought. Bastet was the Egyptian cat-headed goddess, btw, hence the unusual features.

the Thunderdome comp was to include a text blurb on the piece, so maybe it'd be best if i gave a rundown of the celestial who's-who being portrayed, top to bottom:
Skoll, Norse wolf demigodish creature, eats the sun when Ragnarok comes, the final, Universe-destroying battle across Earth and Asgard;
Krishna (blue), a major player in the Hindu pantheon;
Maitreya Buddha (little green tubby), should need no further bio;
the Burning Bush, aka Jahweh, aka Jehovah;
Trickster Rabbit, Algonquin (native American) spirit of mischief;
Odin (l) and Zeus (r), mead-swiller and cosmic philanderer, respectively;
Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven, master of Wu-Wei (Cosmic laid-backness) and (the sneaky monkey), the ever-popular Monkey God;
(left) Freyja, Norse goddess of fertility and queen of the Valkyries (armor by Fredricks of Valhalla) punches out Bastet, Egyptian goddess of cats and fuzzy thinking;
(middle) dove -- peace, love, and understanding, the Holy Spirit, you know the drill -- and hawk -- frequently a messenger for gods and godlets. together they reek of Politics (hawks and doves), for some a semi-religious pursuit (or worse);
Baron Samedi, voudou master of cemetaries, cooly tallying the body count, one righteous dude, top hat, tails and cheap sunglasses;
(bottom L) Loki, Norse bad boy (but whatcha gonna do?), said to have invented nets, made a mint off 'em, he and the Nazarene doin' a little soul-catchin';
and finally, a motley crew of bemused mortals, rhapsodizing in the rapture.

[Ostrander]

This is great. There's so much to take in.
Beautiful piece.

[sve]

Hello, Chip... Don't want to be pushy, but what the hell people think not writing comments to this fun image. Oh well, I'm gonna pinch myself and mind my own business.

Very enjoyable entry and it was like an invitation to research for me. I didn't go farther of Norse mythology though, because I traveled from one god's misbehavior to another, starting with women of course, Freyja with her curious necklace. Then I found a new artist for me John Bauer, then I found new character Loki... I liked Norse mythology. It has a strange unusual taste, very ironic, spicy, IMO. Gnomes nailing Loki's mouth, simpleton Iðunn with her apples, Freyja renting her body for jewelry to gnomes... Very fun read.

I think your picture depicts the same crazy carousel of jaw dropping stories and personalities. Thank you for allowing us to peek at what happened in the Samsara Resort in this evening.
The general feeling from your picture like from watching the movie "Adventures of baron Münchhausen" . Phantasmagorical, surreal, out off the box, a bit crushing a comfortable view on things.

It feels like a cold shower for me too after my religious disputes in Lounge, especially after your quote, "all gods are the same..." .

Well that's my impression.

Now crits if you are willing to hear them.
The picture is symmetrical, but the center of the image is not the center of the page, and I don't count the typed text. You left more space form the side of the Zeus than from the side of the Odin. I think you are not being fair at least, considering that all gods are alike.

I have to say it does create a crazy feeling, adds to general bravado, but it is too obvious, the moved center of the image, it is.

I like all characters, Zeus, Krishna, Odin and Buddha are my favorite in your picture, they got more love from you.

The farthest from us leg foreshortening of the Odin is looking awkward though, in my opinion. I think his knee and leg in general should go at different angle, probably symmetrical to the upper leg of Zeus on the other side of the picture.

The women bodies perspective is not right I think.
Freyja should have her body bent more, with her torso coming at different angle and her legs receding faster with bigger overlapping. I might be wrong.

Bastet has one ugly arm, the one closest to us. I wish you bent it in the elbow a little and made it look more graceful, womanlike.

I wish Jade Emperor didn't disappear in the sky so abruptly, I wish you painted his head dissolved in more sophisticated way.

Please take my words critically and not too seriously.

[masque]

always willing to enojy a C&C from you, Sve, and thanks for peekin' in your "peeks" always see more than many folks' inspections! i agree with most of what you critted, 'specially the battling babes, who were trouble from the start -- cooperated great in the sketch but during painting got cranky on me. i may revisit them some time. the Jade fade is rather abrupt, isn't it? i really didn't see that 'til you mentioned it, maybe also worth a second effort. other stuff i think isn't as noticeable, but if i get back into this piece, i'll definitley address most of them.

and i'm happy you enjoyed my little adventure "out of the box!"

[Kan Muftić]

Oh, i LOVE IT!
Cool, really cool.
Greetings,

[redehlert]

hahahahahha! this is great, bud! you should have submitted this one. it's a riot! and well done, i must add!
cheers!
d

[Keng]

That's hilarius! And beautifully done too. The humour reminds me of the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. Exellent stuff.

[masque]

Chupacabra, Dave, hey dudes, thanks for lookin' in! glad you got a kick outta it. made with love for all us super-serious CA types who need every chance they get to lighten up (heh, heh)

Keng: damn, that's about the best compliment my humor's ever gotten! imo Douglas Adams is right up there with all the literary "gods." i assume you noticed my homage to the Hitchiker's series second installment?

[Sundance]

Fantastic piece masque, it is wonderfully rendered.

So long...
....and thanks for all the fish!



Wait...that should have been in Dave's sketchbook thread... Ah well...