Rob Liefeld. No artist.
junior
in the comics field and is an embarassment to all of us take pride in our
work. Anatomy, perspective, composition, all the basics are way over his head.
If Liefeld would, I would be extremely interested to see him attempt ONE
drawing without any hatching. Without all the extraneous, overworked,
rendering, even the most ignorant viewer could see this crap for what it
really is; a bunch of lines hiding a bunch more mistakes and bad drawing. He
has no defense, he cannot say he is stylizing, because a true stylization has
a solid foundation. No one can open their mouth and show that many teeth.
Everyone has the exact same features and body type. There is no style here.
Alex Toth, Bruce Timm, Mike Mignola, just to name a few, all have very
distinctive drawing styles, but they are all well-done and based on actual
observation of the way the world works.
The use of dense rendering is not inherently bad. It is only bad when it means
NOTHING. Barry Windsor-Smith uses more lines than about anybody else out there
but they are there as an element of his style, an accent to a solid
understanding of drawing basics. Liefeld cannot make this claim.
Liefeld exemplifies all that is bad in modern comics art. He is all surface
and no substance, all icing and no cake. How he can continue to sell books of
such poor quality is beyond me. Unfortunately, many of today's readers don't
know what to look for in comic art. The most important thing in any comic is
the storytelling. Liefeld's horrid page design and grimacing, impossibly built
characters do not tell stories. They are gallery pages for the art illiterate.
And while we're on the subject of impossible builds, that isn't really the
problem here. Many heroes in comics have incredible bodies. The problem is in
the basic structure. People cannot bend and move their limbs they way
Liefeld's do. People, even cartoon characters, have bones, and range of
movement... I can't go on. I'm enraged when I pick up the new CBG and see this
monstrosity that is now supposed to be Captain America. I can only be happy in
one thing here; that Liefeld had enough sense to draw a character with a large
prop he could hide his bad anatomy behind. The shield. It does more than repel
bullets, it protects us from viewing any more Liefeld "art" than is
absolutely necessary.
tass
wrote:
Yeah...I'd agree to that. What is it with artists today? Do they
really think everybody is REALLY skinny with REALLY long legs? Say
what you will about Keown and his drug problem, but his drawings are
byoo-tif-ul.
- Tass
Stevers
In article <4r2djr$3...@news1.sunbelt.net>, junior
<Metro...@SunBelt.Net> writes
--
Stevers
Archie
In article <fFdPzBAg...@andiwell.demon.co.uk>, Stevers
<st...@andiwell.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <4r2djr$3...@news1.sunbelt.net>, junior
> <Metro...@SunBelt.Net> writes
> >Rob Liefeld is without any doubt one of the least talented people to
ever work
> >in the comics field and is an embarassment to all of us take pride in our
> >work. Anatomy, perspective, composition, all the basics are way over
his head.
You could say the same thing about Peter Bagge and I like his comics.
Frank Miller's figures have some pretty wanky looking anatomy at times,
too. So what if Liefeld's artwork is not realistic? That doesn't make
for bad comics by itself. The ancient Egyptians didn't draw realisticly
either, but that didn't get in the way of the message they were
communicating.
FYI, I don't think Liefeld's comic's are particularly entertaining either,
but it has nothing to do with the size of the hero's chest (although that
was one weird drawing!).
Archie Cutter
"I am NOT defensive!"
http://www.smartlink.net/~crash/
Brian Hance
cr...@smartlink.net (Archie) wrote:
>In article <fFdPzBAg...@andiwell.demon.co.uk>, Stevers
><st...@andiwell.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> In article <4r2djr$3...@news1.sunbelt.net>, junior
>> <Metro...@SunBelt.Net> writes
>> >Rob Liefeld is without any doubt one of the least talented people to
>ever work
>> >in the comics field and is an embarassment to all of us take pride in our
>> >work. Anatomy, perspective, composition, all the basics are way over
>his head.
>
>You could say the same thing about Peter Bagge and I like his comics.
>Frank Miller's figures have some pretty wanky looking anatomy at times,
>too.
Just gotta chime in here.
Miller has in the past shown that he has a good grasp of the human anatomy.
Just take Daredevil #166, which I just happen to have just picked up a
couple of days ago. (Yup, I'm gloating.:) ) Spiffy stuff. Millers figures
don't look posed. DD seems strong, but limber and agile. He thighs are
actually in proportion to his head and waist.
Gladiator, is hugely muscled, but still in proportion. He actually looks
like someone who could crush your skull, but his thighs aren't twice as
wide as his head.
Leifeld has never shown much of a grasp of anatomy. Take New Mutants #96,
part of the X-tinction Agenda. Rob has no grasp of anatomy. One scene,
Boom Boom is leaping at some guards, her thigh is farther from the POV than
her head but her it's still wider than her head. And Cable has shoulders
wider than a Buick.
Style is a wonderful thing to have, but a person should grasp the
fundamentals of drawing BEFORE they worry about their style.
>So what if Liefeld's artwork is not realistic? That doesn't make
>for bad comics by itself. The ancient Egyptians didn't draw realisticly
>either, but that didn't get in the way of the message they were
>communicating.
I know it's being nitpicky, but they ancient Egyptians didn't have to
'draw' realistically. The symbols they used were simplified into kind of
an alphabet that could be more easily understood.
>FYI, I don't think Liefeld's comic's are particularly entertaining either,
>but it has nothing to do with the size of the hero's chest (although that
>was one weird drawing!).
I will take a great story over great art any day, the art does matter.
Comics are a primarily visual medium. Really ugly art does take away from
a good story.
Brian Hance bha...@primenet.com
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Edward McArdle
I saw the drawings of Captain America and some other Liefeld drawings in
CBG recently.
Actually, there was only one problem, easily solved. After he draws each
figure he should photocopy the head, enlarge it about 100%, then paste it
back on. If he has people whose heads are bigger than their fists, that's
a start.
--
Edward McArdle.