Well, let it be said that I'm not free from criticism. But it feels weird critiquing my own work. So from now on, I'll post here any of my covers that are out that week and I'll leave it up to any of you arm chair critics out there to rip me a new one.
Is her neck too long? Is she not pretty enough? Let me know in comments.
So there it is for another week. Happy Holidays everybody.
The placement of the "Max" logo does help prevent any number of "airbag" jokes.
ReplyDeleteHer hair is spread so wide over her shoulders I didn't realize that she even had arms at first glance.
Her neck's no problem, but the logo covering up her cleavage is. Not because of the cleavage so much but because it kills the Punisher's shadow and the sense of open space underneath him, which were strong in the blank version. It flattens out the part of the cover that gave it the most depth. So sez me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteStill a nice cover, though.
I really dig this cover but yes, her neck is a bit long and also her chest as well. Her boobs are hanging reeeally low. And the logo placement blocks her cleavage and you lose some of Frank's shadow =\
ReplyDeleteFor the BPRD cover the shapes morphed into one. I think it is the similar values and monotone coloring, I know what you are going for with the communist progaganda style, but it isn't "graphic" enough. As kurt busiek says "so sez me, anyway."
ReplyDeleteI really dig the site and your critiques, very informative!
Agreed. The logo is a problem on the Punisher cover. It ruins the illusion that he's hanging at a greater height and it ties the two sides of her hair together which are a nice design element.
ReplyDeleteWith the Punisher cover, I have a hard time focusing on the image. All of the lines lead away and off the page. I either get pushed off the bottom by her hair or just keep looking up past her head because there is no place to pause. Leaving a little more space above her head would help me linger on her face and notice Max, who I didn't see the first few times.
ReplyDeleteFor me, her neck's not the problem, it's that her shoulders and collarbone don't line up.
I don't like the concept of the Punisher MAX cover. The hair tangling Frank suggests that she's entrapping him but Elekra doesn't look like she's seducing him and the the tangling kinda negates the fall that Frank's taking.
ReplyDeleteBPRD: too much going on not enough solid colors.
You know, for a guy with an excellent eye for design I find it surprising that your blog layout is pretty much terrible.
ReplyDeleteCentre aligned text makes baby Jesus cry.
Also, use this please: http://dictionary.reference.com/
Otherwise, cool blog.
My only thing with the punisher one is that I think the falling punisher figure could be a bit more in a purple hue to set him apart from the elektra figure. Maybe just throw a few more interesting colors in there. But that could also just be a personal thing.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise it's a nice one.
I remember seeing the Punisher cover in DeviantArt some time ago and thinking "thats fucking awesome, but there is something that bothers me". And I think that it is the hair. I think that if the hair were just a solid black surface (no shoulders or arms), it would look better. It also would look better without the logo hiding the boobs, but I guess that it had to be placed somewhere. Maybe (just maybe) it would look good in the background (like a big painting in the wall, with Elektra standing in front of it, covering most part of it with her body), but maybe the logo needs to be in a more visible place, I don´t know.
ReplyDeleteEverything else is great. (The neck is certainly a bit long, but who cares about anatomy as long as the image looks good, and it looks good...).
The other cover is perfectly fine in my opinion.
And by the way, merry christmas to you too sir! :)
Every nitpick with the Elektra cover is pretty much arguable. The length of the neck and the how low her breasts are (and natural breasts with very little support her costume could afford are suppose to hang low anyway) could just be an illusion caused by her hair hiding her traps, and is a necessary illusion to show how far down Frank is falling, which is negated by the placement of the logo. But where else to put it but in that same vertical axis? Her face?
ReplyDeleteA possible solution is to have Frank fall slightly lower, partially obscuring the logo (maybe even have part of his shadow fall on it) to show that he's still falling past the logo, instead of having it break his fall.
Of the two, the Punisher cover is definitely the most eye-catching. The BPRD one seems to be a bit...busier, with two walls of text competing to catch the eye with no distinction between the foreground, midground and background figures.
Also, your blog design sucks.
With the
For the Punisher cover, I believe how accurate her anatomy is as a human should not matter for the design so she looks fine, but as others have mentioned the logo is wasting the design. I'd buy the book or at least get an urge to peek inside if the logo was not there at all or made smaller and placed somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteFor BPRD very nice balance and colors, but I feel old propaganda poster designs are used too often nowadays.
I'm sorry for my terrible English. I always enjoy your art and this blog!
I think the whole design is one that draws on extending the figure - stretching it - to give the illusion of distortion and a lengthy fall. Frankly, it works for me.
ReplyDeletethe cover looks tits. nothing wrong with your design.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything wrong with the design. By the way all those people who are crying, let them. They should've never got into comics if they can't take fair criticism. Keep up the good work Mister Johnson.
ReplyDeleteArtistically it's fine, but why is Frank falling into her tits? The lack of clear storytelling makes it hit a little less strongly than some of your other PunisherMAX covers.
ReplyDeleteStill a thousand times better than I could do, but you asked.
Both look great.
ReplyDeleteNit picking for a crit....Elektra's collar bone sits too high compared to her chest/shoulder curve. Lowering it would elongate the neck even more though.
I like the Punisher cover, but if you changed Elektra's facial expression, you'd have a poster for a movie that could be on USA's UP ALL NIGHT from the 80's.
ReplyDeleteI like everything about the BPRD cover. Especially the colors and the way the copy at the bottom draws the eye down the line of soldiers.
My only complaint?
ReplyDeleteWho is the brain that decided it would make sense to plaster the logo on her clevage. Are they TRYING to lose sales or have they finally succumbed to the whims of the Feminist movement?
Bleh. Other than that the neck being too long isn't even an issue its all fine to me.