As many have pointed out, the art for the new DC vs. MOTU 2-packs is rather unimpressive. For example, here’s the Aquaman vs. Mer-Man art:
It’s just not very good. Aquaman’s right hand looks oddly twisted, his spear is an inch thick, Mer-Man sword is too narrow and the blades are parallel rather than inclined, and most importantly, Mer-Man is green. The whole point of the set is that he’s a blue repaint!
To show Mattel (or DC, since they provided the art) what the set could look like had they hired a more–experienced?–artist, former Masters of the Universe comic artist and walking MOTU encyclopedia Emiliano Santalucia produced his own version. Feast your eyes upon this, my friends.
(Click the image for a super-hi-res version)
Creature E
@FakeEyes22:
What I think is most interesting about the way these drawings turned out is what we can infer about how little clout Mattel must have when it comes to MotU.
It seems pretty reasonable to deduce that this was a low priority project for DC that they gave to an inexperienced artist at the last minute, who had to produce the work in a rush with very little briefing. Then it was given to Mattel so late that they had to go to production with what they had, without any time to request changes.
I mean, Mattel drops the ball on some stuff, but it seems hard for me to believe that they got back the art with the wrong Mer-Man and went, "Awesome." It wouldn't have been too much trouble for them to have called DC and said, "Hey, you colored our guy wrong," and get it fixed, unless they were committed to go to press right away.
That's just speculation on my part, but that kind of stuff happens all the time. Logistics!
It's a dispiriting picture of MotU's place on the totem pole. If this kind of thing is happening, it really does suggest that keeping this line going is an uphill battle.
FakeEyes22
@Dayraven
I do think think the comic look probably has a great deal to do with how the illustration turned out. The art does carry some retro charm. Merman looks very much like he may have as Super Friensd villain, with his animated look and physique that fits with that sort of style. The figures themselves are an odd enough pair stylistically, so artwork merging styles in a convincing manner is likely to have some compromises.
I feel that the Merman compromises are a bit extreme. It's one sided in it's compromise. A DC artist isn't going to accidentally draw Aquaman with a beard and hook for a hand when he's given the word "Classics" or a mention of 80s toys. The same artist who clearly isn't provided with any reference is going to have some trouble with a different property. The comic look could have easily been achieved with a blue Merman with gloves on, right? The Stratos on the other poster looks like he's got his 2002 jetpack and feathered loincloth.
The art itself is a bit flat to me, moreso than the comics that it may be trying to emulate. It's similar to some interior art of the time, I guess, but I think artwork meant for a package and poster should have the extra of comic covers. Both are meant to generate excitement for the product inside.
I don't mean to insult the artist. I'd bet he works in house at DC because of a very profrssional ability to produce clean finished art in very few paid hours.
dayraven
@FakeEyes22:
not for nothing, but this art is extraordinarily reminiscent of the actual DC masters comic… you don't think that might have been the point?
and so emiliano, and pretty much everyone in the boat he captains, is likewise missing the point.
frogster also mentions that the art looks like coloring book art… right. and there might not be a virtue to this? if kids are bugging dad to buy these, and he relents, that poster could easily be handed off to the kid to placate them, like the table placemats at most restaurants, while he plays w/ the expensive "collectibles." believe me, dads do this kind of stuff. then when we get tired of the toy, it goes to the kids.
RocketPunch
@Creature E: Emiliano is a professional, he certainly wasn't setting out to make another artist look bad. If you read Emilano's post in the He-Man.org fanart section where this art was originally posted, you'd see that he actually praised the original artists work.
Frogster
The original DC art reminds me of coloring book art because of it's blandness and lack of detail. It has a sort of kiddie factor that looks like it would belong almost in a coloring book.
3B
Cool drawing. It shows what could have been produced by knowing the product and adding some details. The original artwork looks horrendous! I can't believe DC would release such amateurish drawings. And by "amateurish" I mean kindergarten-level.
I mean really, who at DC drew that piece of sh*t? Jim Lee with two broken hands, feet and his neck in a brace could draw something better. On an iPad.
misterbigbo
@FakeEyes22: +1, you brought up all the points I came to make. All this criticism of Emiliano's work smacks of oddly over-analyzed arguments or just sour grapes.
FakeEyes22
Like I said, I found the art pretty lame when I first saw it. I think Emiliano's goal (at least mine was in my half-assed attempt)!was to simulate the layout while making it not just little more exciting, but to use proper reference on the MOTU characters.
We can't say if Emiliano or the DC artist spent an hour or day on their pieces. The DC characters on the original are pretty solid Silver Age style renditions, so the artist isn't horrible. The Masters characters are odd and inconsistent. They look like someone was handed the project with no reference images or idea what product was being sold and told "You're on your own, have these done by 5."
As defensive as Mattel can be with their brand image, the art probably shouldn't have been approved. A pro artist is used to tweaking their work. We hear "that style is retired" often enough that you'd think all marketing material to adhere to their desired style of the brand, rather than representing what looks rushed with random Google reference.
What I didn't like about is that this set that these premium priced set of figures with little development costs and premium pricing had art that seemed rushed by whoever could cheaply and quickly do an okay job, and nobody cared enough beyond that. Keep in mind this art is not just for the packaging, but posters that are replacing comic books. The comics helped add a little value to the package, but these(very tiny) posters really don't.
I think that Emiliano did a nice job creating a piece that makes a similar statement to the actual piece, but does a better job as an exciting pack-in while selling the product and representing the brand. He was pretty much egged on to do it as a fun challenge, so I hope nobody at Mattel takes it as insult or spite. I've got to compliment the excellent coloring again. It's an undermentioned and underrated skill that is wonderfully done here.
AJ
The official art is horrendous. Mer-Man looks like a guy in a ’50s monster suit with a immobile expression. The angle on that sword is all wrong, not at all invoking the look of a three-dimensional object.
Creature E
@Dead Man Walking:
But it's not fair. The other artist doesn't get to defend himself, or explain why he made the choices he made, or the circumstances he had to produce the work under. We don't know how he was briefed (obviously not well, since he clearly was not given reference for the actual toys), or how long he's been working. This may be his first project like this ever.
This really seems unprofessional for the he-man.org guys. Running a website does not give you license to try to make other artists look bad, whether or not their work is up to par.
Creature E
@dayraven:
I also had the thought that setting it underwater would be a neat approach to this drawing.
Thinking on it a little more, it really seems morally dubious to me that Santalucia has taken another artist's work, however flawed, literally redrawn the exact composition, scene, and character poses, put it online as if to say "This is how it should have been done", and gets covered in glory (at least in this post) while this other poor artist who's just had his or her work plagiarized gets pilloried. It seems completely unfair to me and I can't believe I'm the only one.
I mean, the original piece really seems like it's the work of a young artist working quickly for little money and no credit, and is getting raked over the coals here in favor of someone who's essentially copied his or her drawing without bringing anything new to the table and gets treated like a genius.
I don't want to be a spoilsport but that seems incredibly uncool to me. It's really disrespectful to the original artist, whatever you think of his or her work.
Dead Man Walking
Wow, I'm kind of amazed by all the criticism (or at least yawns) regarding Emilano's piece. It think people are missing the fact that he made it similar to the official piece so that they could be fairly compared.
dayraven
@Creature E: gotta say, i'm w/ creature on this one (say hi to sheila for me, BTW), this smacks to me of the "small potatoes" org attitude that keeps from signing up over there. it is nicer that the official art, but i wouldn't be bragging about it myself.
like, just me, little old associates of arts degree me, saying this… but if i did a pic of these two fighting… i'd set it UNDER water, not bo derrick deep in the surf. are they fighting or doing a coppertone spread?v i get that he was trying to show up the work they did, but if it's not good enough, then why not do something really unique to show them what great art looks like?
Creature E
@RocketPunch:
There's no doubt his version has a much more confident grasp of anatomy, and it's on-model, which it's weird that the version DC actually produced isn't… but "incredible"? It's just a more refined, polished version of the same drawing.
Whenever people get misty-eyed about Masters of the Universe packaging of old, I always assume they're talking about Earl Norem- and Rudy Obrero-style painted fantasy art. Both of these pieces are generic corporate superhero-style art drawn on computers. One of them obviously is drawn at a higher level than the other, but I don't think it would make a dramatic difference on the shelf to the casual viewer.
If Santalucia's piece was painted, or treated to have a painted look, I could see people falling all over it. And I understand that he may not be a painter, but if he's not, what's the point here? A bland illustration drawn confidently is better than a bland illustration drawn shakily, but the WOW factor isn't boosted that much in my eyes.
RocketPunch
@Creature E: You have to bear in mind that this was done by Emiliano in his spare time. Considering how much material he managed to produce each month when he was working on the 200X comics, i'm sure he could turn in artwork of this quality much faster if Mattel was actually paying him.
This art is incredible, and absolutely destroys DC's effort.
Poe
@Scott: Doesn’t change the point, but I added a note.
FakeEyes22
Nice! Did Val end up coloring that? Both the illustration and coloring are excellent.
Man, I totally forgot how unreasonably irritated I was with the packaging art when it was revealed. I even spent a night sketching my own version before I realized Emiliano was doing one. I ended up posting my WIP and quitting since he's far more qualified to surpass the Matty art.
Here's my amateur effort http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/attachment.ph…
Mecha-Shiva
I like classic art Aquaman better because his design never looked serious if applied with a modern style,the art for him looks different from the shoddily drawn merman and background,this could have probably be just a lazy cut and paste job.
Emiliano's slick presentation never fails to impress but it still reflects MYP style.
Creature E
I agree that Santalucia's version is nicer-looking, but it still seems pretty uninspired. What was the point of this exercise? The composition is just as bland and I don't know why your average eight year old or casual toy-buying parent would be expected to tell the difference. Given that the second piece has been in the works for months (based on how long ago He-Man.org had a tantrum about this issue) and the first was likely produced by a harried DC production artist in about half a day, it actually seems much less impressive.
Scott
Mattel didn't hire anyone. They've said before that DC supplied the art.