In my previous blogs on the Elementals in Calling All Heroes, I’ve focused on elements of astrology, or the personal history behind each of the Elemental illustrations. But this time I want to talk a little more on the purely artistic side.
The Water Elemental, as I illustrated him, is a bit of a study of the human male (or conventionally male) body – highly stylized, yes, but still humanoid, and still a bit of an ode to the human form, if I do say so myself. I have long adored the look of the human body; not really in an R-rated way, but honestly just enjoying various artistic depictions of the human form. I don’t know what it is about humans, but we like to see our own species reflected in art. I certainly do, and even though I look very little like the skinny, busty characters I draw, I love creating and studying images of the human body.
However, I recently had a conversation that made me question some things about my art – well, not question so much as consider, I guess. I was doing some art as a commission for a gentleman I knew through my local community, and in our discussions, it came up that his daughter drew “anime cartoons” (his words – I would have called it manga). “But she doesn’t want to draw people,” he lamented. “She just wants to draw the animes.”
All generation-gap-language amusement aside, I found it a little saddening that this person thought that only realistic depictions of humans counted as “drawing people,” and that cartoons and other stylizations negated a piece’s value as a portrait or human drawing. I’m not saying that manga/anime proportions are acceptable for, say, a figure-drawing class – but in one’s own art? It is an entirely valid style, and, indeed, art form.
It reminded me of another person, a past roommate and non-friend who once looked at my sketchbook and said “Yeah, this is okay. All you have to do now is learn to draw realistic and you’ll be an artist!” Ouch.
And yet here I am, working professionally as an artist, drawing my same anime style (although it has become a little more refined at this point). No one’s batted an eye yet, and if they do, I can fall back on the plethora of successful projects I have notched into my belt by now.
Realism is great, and basic art skills and anatomy knowledge are essential for all artists, even those of us who break a lot of rules and work in a very stylized style. But, my point is this: I don’t think that any specific style should be enough to make us discount a piece of art as unworthy or non-art automatically. No art style should be a black mark on a piece, ensuring that no one takes it seriously or gives it a chance to impress as much as it could.
Just some thoughts.
So, to give a quick update on OgreWare while I’m here: There is a big update coming, but probably not until next week at the earliest. There’s been some exhaustion, overwork, and carpal-tunnel-type pain on the OgreWare side, so they are taking it a little easier and not pushing too hard. The update could theoretically be out on Thursday but it is unlikely. For the same reason, there is no variant provided for the Water Elemental, just his “default” version.
All right, guys, that’s all I’ve got. As always, if you’d like to play Calling All Heroes here in your browser, just click here. If you’re more in the mood for playing on your Android-enabled device, download the .apk file here. Thanks again, and have a fantastic day!
-Admin Taylor