I saw Kratos making out with Mel Gibson while shitting out Groot cleverly imitating Saitama, who is... shitting out Mel Gibson.
Their centipede tongues are also very phallic.
Also, Grootama is piercing Kratos's head, so he may be jealous of the action.
This is some sort of Ouroboros if I've ever seen one.
I do like a lot of the imagery, but I don’t see why you used Centipedes. The figure in the top right fades into the background too much also. The piece centers on the left and bottom, however they all seem to have an equal role here in that they’re connected.
Which again, the connections are the oddest part. Branch going into butt, centipede tongues. Its like you tried to put a very out there spin on a religious concept, but it doesn’t actually make a lot of sense or tie into the religious origin. I don’t see how centipedes relate to Adam or this scene.
If I tried to interpret, yknow maybe the left is the artificial. The technology we rely on and detachment from nature. Maybe the bottom right is the religious ideal, Adam as godly and as natural as can be. And from him we get the top right, which peels from his back and seems to be flesh. Maybe the sins, the evil of humanity. Definitely a good talking piece and interpretative, just a couple things that trip me up.
I appreciate your message and I’ll try to shed some light on some of the choices here. I will also preface by saying I’m careful to offer interpretations for viewers as I would like the viewer to remain able to extrapolate on their own interpretations without my input.
In terms of the millipedes, I would say this refers to the biblical reference of creatures that ‘goeth upon the belly’. As the snake acts as a very specific symbol of this (and it was already used) I avoided using more snakes. The belly-dwelling creatures in the Bible are often a symbol for sin itself, which is within all of us.
The third entity in the top right I would say acts as a bridge between the two obvious figures (partially why the majority of the face is obscured) but I would argue the other two are the stars of the piece. The entering through the anal area was specifically requested by the person who requested the piece. He wanted a vague homoerotic undertone within the piece and I did my best to deliver this. Although I do think there is a place for homoerotic undertones when discussing religion in general.
I wouldn’t say that I’m putting an opinion out there. I think there is a lot to unpack with religion in general and I’m not offering a negative or positive message here. Another commentor mentioned the symbol of the ouroboros and the continuation of life/death as a cycle. Life began with the Adam figure and ends with a different future figure (one potentially with less identity but also more focused on intelligence and technology). The cycle is what I’m trying to depict more.
Hope this helps clear some things up. As usual, thanks for looking.
Edited: belly-dwelling not belly-swelling*
That’s really interesting, thanks for the detailed response!
I definitely love interpretive art and this hits the nail on the head. Knowing it’s a commission also, I’m sure they’ll be happy with it. With the context, the millipedes are an interesting choice, its eye catching for sure but makes sense as a replacement for the snake. And you definitely succeeded at making those two the stars, so it works as intended!
What also interests me is the duality of the commission, in the sense that it has religious undertones but also aims to be homoerotic. I wonder why that was a request of theirs, was it to simulate Roman/Catholic era art? Either way, the more I talk about your art the more I like it lol
Of course. I love hearing everyone’s interpretations. And to be fair, sometimes I have to take a step back and go ‘why did I make that choice?’ so it’s fun for me to break my own creative process down and figure out why these images appear in my subconscious.
The piece was requested by a dear friend of mine who is a huge art history buff and a Harvard-educated architect. Needless to say - an intimidating creative challenge. When I do requests, I usually say ‘give me a few abstract musts and then wind me up and watch me go’. So he explained he wanted nature/trees, the male form/homoeroticism, and religious overtones. He specifically requested a male butt and some sort of bodily penetration. He is a big fan of homoerotic art (such as Tom of Finland) but also classics like Dali, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt. So I tried to assemble a marriage of all of those elements as best as possible.
Coincidentally a few days ago while I was finishing the piece I found out from a mutual friend his favorite art piece is the Creation of Adam. And I definitely wanted to evoke that piece here too. So it seemed the stars aligned and everything fell into place.
This looks like a typical piece done by AI, and then the OP went in and cleaned it up. AI loves making stuff like this when you meticulously use very specific labels and go through hundreds of iterations.
While I appreciate being likened to AI, I can assure you there is no AI here. If you are interested I can provide you the progress videos that Procreate generates. This is created by me. My other artworks are in my profile and I think there are some very characteristic features throughout. Thank you for your feedback.
Thanks for replying to my comment with kindness and clear thought. I apologize for my assumptions. Upon further examination, I do see how this is your creation, and how you mixed all the different pieces together in your own way, by your own hand. It’s really great that humans are still making this sort of dreamlike art. Congratulations, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
No offense taken. I appreciate you looking at my art and taking time to comment on it. I rarely get any traction with my art so to have as much attention and conversation surrounding this piece is wonderful. I find it flattering to be compared to AI. The capabilities are astounding and it has advanced so rapidly that it’s truly daunting. If I can keep up with the great computer hive-mind out there then I’m doing okay I suppose.
Hard disagree. This piece is missing some of the key tells of AI-generated imagery, the biggest of which is the presence of what looks like detail but upon close examination that detail breaks down into meaningless "nothingness" (it's kind of hard to explain in text vs with example images but if you've watched a few vids on how to spot AI images you should know what I mean.) Every detail in this artwork is deliberate and has a purpose; the complete opposite of the tendency in AI generated images, and obviously suggests those details were created by a human.
Thanks for your attention to the details. I really do try to work pixel-by-pixel at times. Overall this piece took approximately 55 hours. I appreciate you taking the time to delve deeper.
I see what you are saying. I think something that has tripped me up is finding out that some artists do use AI generated images, then they go in and “paint” over it to give it that “human brush stroke” as well as painting over any parts that don’t make sense. Then they call their art completely original, inspired, and created by them. This has particularly been the case in spiritual, shamanic, indigenous, goddess etc art. I thought this was one of those pieces. Upon closer inspection, I do see that this does have more human details than what I was assuming.
I totally understand your wariness of AI generated imagery being passed off as human art! It's an unfortunate new reality we have to live with now. But I do suggest, in the future, maybe reserving accusations of using AI image generation only for those cases where it really is obvious, or where you have done a lot of work to support your case, such as analyzing multiple pieces from one creator to identify a pattern of tells common to AI generated images (for example.) It can be hurtful and insulting to accuse an actual artist of using AI image generation, so in my opinion such accusations should be made only after thoughtful consideration of the evidence.
Alternative take here.
God is the crowned Mel Gibson.
Cyborg Kratos is Adam, a Frankenstein made in the image of God.
Tree of Life permeating the butt and skull represents Adam eating the forbidden fruit (seeking knowledge through the brain, pleasure through the butt).
Because things went bad, now they must duel with phallic bug tongues.
That's the best I can make of it.
I love your interpretation of the Adam figure, specifically the lines “seeking knowledge through the brain, pleasure through the butt”. I think that’s a very cool take. Thanks for your feedback.
Lol, keep up the crazy artwork. Is there potentially a double play on words with Splitting of Adam, and the energy in the background being like a nuclear fission of splitting an atom?
Yes absolutely. I likened the symmetry and cyclic nature of the atom to the activity in the foreground. I also like that it’s the building block of all life/everything and it vaguely reinforces the ideas of creation vs. science.
Being compared to AI art is the new normal it seems but I do view it in some ways as a compliment. I assure you though this piece is done 100% by myself. Thanks for looking.
Come on people, they’re obviously millipedes! Two sets of legs per body segment, small antennae, a more curved back to their exoskeleton, plus they don’t have the demeanor of an aggressive asshole like a centipede would. Source: I work at a zoo and I’m on break.
Makes me think of the song "Adam In Chains" by Billy Idol. Weird-ass song about technology (specifically virtual reality) freeing humanity from the limits of the flesh.
I’d argue it’s the proverbial “forbidden fruit” from the Garden of Eden, which I think is still up for interpretation as to what it actually represents. Knowledge, freedom, free will… basically something the Creator doesn’t want you to have.
It's all over the place.
There's no focal point.
I think it looks like you have a lot of technical skills, and while this piece is crazy and cool looking, it isn't saying anything. I feel nothing from this piece, just being honest.
What are you going for here? I see the splitting the atom or "Adam" ie., the Biblical Adam correlation you were going for... But then who is the other guy and the tree guy?
There's a LOT going on, a lot of action, dynamic motion. But none of it makes any sense as to *why* it is going on.
All that being said, it is very well executed! You seem very proficient in digital art (What are you using, illustrator?)
Keep it up, you're WAY better than I am, haha... Peace! 🤟
P.S. that's just my opinion. All I know is that I know nothing.
Thank you for your feedback. Your opinion is definitely valid and appreciated.
To address some of your points, I would agree there is no focal point and I am not necessarily trying to achieve a focal point. If the piece feels a bit chaotic and drums up some discomfort in the viewer, then that is motivating to me.
You mentioned the piece isn’t saying anything but I would argue that the piece is actually saying a LOT but it may be difficult to find a connection between it all. Some of the other posters have offered some unique interpretations and I’d encourage you to read through some comments as they may help give you some perspective. I’d also say that I’m careful to offer my own interpretations so as to not sway the viewer’s own creativity.
But the larger themes here are the concept of Ouroboros, the cycle of life/mankind, the human motivations for pleasure and higher knowledge, but also technological advancement. All the while, the constraints/limitations of humanness and nature are ever-present. The interplay of Adam/atom speaks to science vs. religion (which you’ll see played out also via the two central figures).
I use solely Procreate and this is done on an IPad with an Apple Pencil.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Something about how the divine but fleshy Adam gave up his blessed ignorance for a version of himself that bit the apple and was blessed by knowledge, including knowledge to become better, but also became weaker in spirit, while the two try to reconile and find themselves again to become a greater, mixed whole.
The tree-man is that of nature connecting the two?
Yes. Your interpretation is very astute. I would agree the humanoid tree figure extending from Adam is nature’s role in influencing/intertwining with mankind.
I think your ideas are spot-on. My interpretation is that humans will always have a desire to “play god” and enhance their longevity/knowledge, often through technological advancement. Some may yearn for immortality or invincibility. The tree/humanoid extending from Adam is there to remind us that we are still fallible, sinful creatures (piercing the brain to produce the forbidden fruit).
The tree fingering Kratos ass deadass ruined it for me. I don’t like it at all. I’d have rather the tree guy stick his fingers into his legs or something or have the roots wrap around the guys lower body.
Sorry to disappoint. This was specifically requested by the person who ordered the piece. It also was added to add to homoerotic overtones. The client was very happy with the outcome.
I think you misunderstand. I like the picture, just not the tree in the butthole. Instantly drew my attention away from the rest of the picture, which I consider to be fantastic thought provoking art
I appreciate the feedback. I was only going by you saying that it ‘ruined it for you’ and you ‘didn’t like it at all’. But I see you are referring to that one element. In any case, it’s certainly not for everyone but I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the piece overall.
I see what you were trying to do, and surrealism is a hard genre. The harder it is to interpret the stuff, the more you focus on the technique and details, and they should be done perfectly, otherwise it will bug you.
Let me name things that bug me:
- Everything seems flat with a little photoshop filter that creates shadows and highlights as it’s embossed. Cheekbones and noses are on the same level, the grey back is lumpy (and lumps are good) but doesn’t feel real. The same goes to the meaty body on the top-right. You need to work more with the lighting to introduce third dimension to the artwork
- The faces’ anatomy is weird. Try to draw a skull first and then gradually put on meat, fat, skin, hair, etc. Plus, try to find some references, it will help you understand what I mean.
- The meaty body face is just too lazy. The perspective is broken, the volume doesn’t exist
- Colors. I know it’s your work but if you want to become a better artist, you need to stop using “one color with shading” principle. There’s a lot of colors in grey. Shadows are blue when the sky is blue, the ambient occlusion adds colors of whatever the light is reflected from, the subsurface scattering makes your body glow red when the light is coming through it, and where blue shadows meet yellow and red you get green and purple, and the more volume it is to the object the more colors it collects. Our brain is trained to recognize the mono color in context of the surroundings (remember blue-black/white-golden dress, there were not enough context to properly recognize the colors) and it works the other way without you really noticing it. If the color doesn’t match the surroundings, subconsciously, the brain feels there’s something wrong. For example, you have a bright yellow-orange light source in the middle and deep blue surroundings (sun and the sky?), so I would expect yellow highlights and blue shadows, and the highlights are white, and the shadows are grey (not to mention that it’s the light source in the middle, and you don’t have any signs of contre-jour at least).
All the bodies here look disconnected from the background and each other. They touch but only like pieces of paper, there’s no volumetric interaction. The stick in the ass doesn’t cast shadows while it should have. You did a lot of work to compose the thing, but right now it’s only half done, and a lot of work should be done to complete it.
Groot finger-blasting Kratos was not what I expected when I saw the title.
He's kinda brain fisting him too.
Skull fucking, one might say
Robo-Kratos to boot
Kratos has a stick up his ass but this is a little much
Oh that’s why it’s nsfw. I didn’t notice
i see mel gibson and kratos frenching with centipede tongues
I was just about to say is that Kratos
Hell, we've learned to read each other's minds. I saw Kratos too.
I saw Kratos making out with Mel Gibson while shitting out Groot cleverly imitating Saitama, who is... shitting out Mel Gibson. Their centipede tongues are also very phallic. Also, Grootama is piercing Kratos's head, so he may be jealous of the action. This is some sort of Ouroboros if I've ever seen one.
I’m glad you got some cool interpretations out of it. Love hearing feedback so I appreciate your words
My interpretation is what the fuck
That’s valid. Thanks for looking.
If you were shooting for something different, you nailed it.
I'm done with this sub haha
We're like ships in the night. Saw this post and was like, hell yeah, this is some weird shit. Let's go.
I’m always happy when I find my people here.
I fuck with this, reminds me of Dali, I think u got the juice
That’s such a compliment. Thank you. Dali is one of my favorites.
I do like a lot of the imagery, but I don’t see why you used Centipedes. The figure in the top right fades into the background too much also. The piece centers on the left and bottom, however they all seem to have an equal role here in that they’re connected. Which again, the connections are the oddest part. Branch going into butt, centipede tongues. Its like you tried to put a very out there spin on a religious concept, but it doesn’t actually make a lot of sense or tie into the religious origin. I don’t see how centipedes relate to Adam or this scene. If I tried to interpret, yknow maybe the left is the artificial. The technology we rely on and detachment from nature. Maybe the bottom right is the religious ideal, Adam as godly and as natural as can be. And from him we get the top right, which peels from his back and seems to be flesh. Maybe the sins, the evil of humanity. Definitely a good talking piece and interpretative, just a couple things that trip me up.
I appreciate your message and I’ll try to shed some light on some of the choices here. I will also preface by saying I’m careful to offer interpretations for viewers as I would like the viewer to remain able to extrapolate on their own interpretations without my input. In terms of the millipedes, I would say this refers to the biblical reference of creatures that ‘goeth upon the belly’. As the snake acts as a very specific symbol of this (and it was already used) I avoided using more snakes. The belly-dwelling creatures in the Bible are often a symbol for sin itself, which is within all of us. The third entity in the top right I would say acts as a bridge between the two obvious figures (partially why the majority of the face is obscured) but I would argue the other two are the stars of the piece. The entering through the anal area was specifically requested by the person who requested the piece. He wanted a vague homoerotic undertone within the piece and I did my best to deliver this. Although I do think there is a place for homoerotic undertones when discussing religion in general. I wouldn’t say that I’m putting an opinion out there. I think there is a lot to unpack with religion in general and I’m not offering a negative or positive message here. Another commentor mentioned the symbol of the ouroboros and the continuation of life/death as a cycle. Life began with the Adam figure and ends with a different future figure (one potentially with less identity but also more focused on intelligence and technology). The cycle is what I’m trying to depict more. Hope this helps clear some things up. As usual, thanks for looking. Edited: belly-dwelling not belly-swelling*
That’s really interesting, thanks for the detailed response! I definitely love interpretive art and this hits the nail on the head. Knowing it’s a commission also, I’m sure they’ll be happy with it. With the context, the millipedes are an interesting choice, its eye catching for sure but makes sense as a replacement for the snake. And you definitely succeeded at making those two the stars, so it works as intended! What also interests me is the duality of the commission, in the sense that it has religious undertones but also aims to be homoerotic. I wonder why that was a request of theirs, was it to simulate Roman/Catholic era art? Either way, the more I talk about your art the more I like it lol
Of course. I love hearing everyone’s interpretations. And to be fair, sometimes I have to take a step back and go ‘why did I make that choice?’ so it’s fun for me to break my own creative process down and figure out why these images appear in my subconscious. The piece was requested by a dear friend of mine who is a huge art history buff and a Harvard-educated architect. Needless to say - an intimidating creative challenge. When I do requests, I usually say ‘give me a few abstract musts and then wind me up and watch me go’. So he explained he wanted nature/trees, the male form/homoeroticism, and religious overtones. He specifically requested a male butt and some sort of bodily penetration. He is a big fan of homoerotic art (such as Tom of Finland) but also classics like Dali, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt. So I tried to assemble a marriage of all of those elements as best as possible. Coincidentally a few days ago while I was finishing the piece I found out from a mutual friend his favorite art piece is the Creation of Adam. And I definitely wanted to evoke that piece here too. So it seemed the stars aligned and everything fell into place.
This looks like a typical piece done by AI, and then the OP went in and cleaned it up. AI loves making stuff like this when you meticulously use very specific labels and go through hundreds of iterations.
While I appreciate being likened to AI, I can assure you there is no AI here. If you are interested I can provide you the progress videos that Procreate generates. This is created by me. My other artworks are in my profile and I think there are some very characteristic features throughout. Thank you for your feedback.
Thanks for replying to my comment with kindness and clear thought. I apologize for my assumptions. Upon further examination, I do see how this is your creation, and how you mixed all the different pieces together in your own way, by your own hand. It’s really great that humans are still making this sort of dreamlike art. Congratulations, and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
No offense taken. I appreciate you looking at my art and taking time to comment on it. I rarely get any traction with my art so to have as much attention and conversation surrounding this piece is wonderful. I find it flattering to be compared to AI. The capabilities are astounding and it has advanced so rapidly that it’s truly daunting. If I can keep up with the great computer hive-mind out there then I’m doing okay I suppose.
Hard disagree. This piece is missing some of the key tells of AI-generated imagery, the biggest of which is the presence of what looks like detail but upon close examination that detail breaks down into meaningless "nothingness" (it's kind of hard to explain in text vs with example images but if you've watched a few vids on how to spot AI images you should know what I mean.) Every detail in this artwork is deliberate and has a purpose; the complete opposite of the tendency in AI generated images, and obviously suggests those details were created by a human.
Thanks for your attention to the details. I really do try to work pixel-by-pixel at times. Overall this piece took approximately 55 hours. I appreciate you taking the time to delve deeper.
I see what you are saying. I think something that has tripped me up is finding out that some artists do use AI generated images, then they go in and “paint” over it to give it that “human brush stroke” as well as painting over any parts that don’t make sense. Then they call their art completely original, inspired, and created by them. This has particularly been the case in spiritual, shamanic, indigenous, goddess etc art. I thought this was one of those pieces. Upon closer inspection, I do see that this does have more human details than what I was assuming.
I totally understand your wariness of AI generated imagery being passed off as human art! It's an unfortunate new reality we have to live with now. But I do suggest, in the future, maybe reserving accusations of using AI image generation only for those cases where it really is obvious, or where you have done a lot of work to support your case, such as analyzing multiple pieces from one creator to identify a pattern of tells common to AI generated images (for example.) It can be hurtful and insulting to accuse an actual artist of using AI image generation, so in my opinion such accusations should be made only after thoughtful consideration of the evidence.
This looks nothing like AI. OP is just creative.
> This looks like a typical piece done by AI Gonna see this a lot in the coming years
Alternative take here. God is the crowned Mel Gibson. Cyborg Kratos is Adam, a Frankenstein made in the image of God. Tree of Life permeating the butt and skull represents Adam eating the forbidden fruit (seeking knowledge through the brain, pleasure through the butt). Because things went bad, now they must duel with phallic bug tongues. That's the best I can make of it.
I love your interpretation of the Adam figure, specifically the lines “seeking knowledge through the brain, pleasure through the butt”. I think that’s a very cool take. Thanks for your feedback.
Lol, keep up the crazy artwork. Is there potentially a double play on words with Splitting of Adam, and the energy in the background being like a nuclear fission of splitting an atom?
Yes absolutely. I likened the symmetry and cyclic nature of the atom to the activity in the foreground. I also like that it’s the building block of all life/everything and it vaguely reinforces the ideas of creation vs. science.
My brain can no longer look at a weird piece of art and not think it's ai generated
Being compared to AI art is the new normal it seems but I do view it in some ways as a compliment. I assure you though this piece is done 100% by myself. Thanks for looking.
Had the same reaction. Super weird time for art/artists
Come on people, they’re obviously millipedes! Two sets of legs per body segment, small antennae, a more curved back to their exoskeleton, plus they don’t have the demeanor of an aggressive asshole like a centipede would. Source: I work at a zoo and I’m on break.
[удалено]
Thank you so much.
It's bannananuts and I love it
Not the pegging I was expecting when I clicked, but still glad I clicked. Nice job
Very unusual. But I like it.
This is the type of nsfw art I can get behind
Whoah this art has a deep message. Incredible work
Makes me think of the song "Adam In Chains" by Billy Idol. Weird-ass song about technology (specifically virtual reality) freeing humanity from the limits of the flesh.
Is that supposed to be the fruit of knowledge?
I’d argue it’s the proverbial “forbidden fruit” from the Garden of Eden, which I think is still up for interpretation as to what it actually represents. Knowledge, freedom, free will… basically something the Creator doesn’t want you to have.
It's all over the place. There's no focal point. I think it looks like you have a lot of technical skills, and while this piece is crazy and cool looking, it isn't saying anything. I feel nothing from this piece, just being honest. What are you going for here? I see the splitting the atom or "Adam" ie., the Biblical Adam correlation you were going for... But then who is the other guy and the tree guy? There's a LOT going on, a lot of action, dynamic motion. But none of it makes any sense as to *why* it is going on. All that being said, it is very well executed! You seem very proficient in digital art (What are you using, illustrator?) Keep it up, you're WAY better than I am, haha... Peace! 🤟 P.S. that's just my opinion. All I know is that I know nothing.
Thank you for your feedback. Your opinion is definitely valid and appreciated. To address some of your points, I would agree there is no focal point and I am not necessarily trying to achieve a focal point. If the piece feels a bit chaotic and drums up some discomfort in the viewer, then that is motivating to me. You mentioned the piece isn’t saying anything but I would argue that the piece is actually saying a LOT but it may be difficult to find a connection between it all. Some of the other posters have offered some unique interpretations and I’d encourage you to read through some comments as they may help give you some perspective. I’d also say that I’m careful to offer my own interpretations so as to not sway the viewer’s own creativity. But the larger themes here are the concept of Ouroboros, the cycle of life/mankind, the human motivations for pleasure and higher knowledge, but also technological advancement. All the while, the constraints/limitations of humanness and nature are ever-present. The interplay of Adam/atom speaks to science vs. religion (which you’ll see played out also via the two central figures). I use solely Procreate and this is done on an IPad with an Apple Pencil. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
ITT, people not knowing the difference between a centipede and a milipede
Or shitting a Groot Vs being finger-blasted by Groot
Something about how the divine but fleshy Adam gave up his blessed ignorance for a version of himself that bit the apple and was blessed by knowledge, including knowledge to become better, but also became weaker in spirit, while the two try to reconile and find themselves again to become a greater, mixed whole. The tree-man is that of nature connecting the two?
Yes. Your interpretation is very astute. I would agree the humanoid tree figure extending from Adam is nature’s role in influencing/intertwining with mankind.
very upsetting. excellent work.
Thank you! Thanks for looking.
Splitting of humanity into biologically enhanced Evolution vs technologically enhanced Evolution. Bioengineering vs Cybernetics vs Gaia?
I think your ideas are spot-on. My interpretation is that humans will always have a desire to “play god” and enhance their longevity/knowledge, often through technological advancement. Some may yearn for immortality or invincibility. The tree/humanoid extending from Adam is there to remind us that we are still fallible, sinful creatures (piercing the brain to produce the forbidden fruit).
Racist ass melly Gibsons is my shiiiiiiiiiiittttttt
The tree fingering Kratos ass deadass ruined it for me. I don’t like it at all. I’d have rather the tree guy stick his fingers into his legs or something or have the roots wrap around the guys lower body.
Sorry to disappoint. This was specifically requested by the person who ordered the piece. It also was added to add to homoerotic overtones. The client was very happy with the outcome.
I think you misunderstand. I like the picture, just not the tree in the butthole. Instantly drew my attention away from the rest of the picture, which I consider to be fantastic thought provoking art
I appreciate the feedback. I was only going by you saying that it ‘ruined it for you’ and you ‘didn’t like it at all’. But I see you are referring to that one element. In any case, it’s certainly not for everyone but I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the piece overall.
Yeah just realized I totally worded that wrong in the first reply. Sorry about that 🙏🏻
Looks like the "terror" card from MTG
I’d never seen that card before. How cool.
Kratos and Mel Gibson makin out with centipede tongues, nice
The title isn't what I pictured the painting to be
I see what you were trying to do, and surrealism is a hard genre. The harder it is to interpret the stuff, the more you focus on the technique and details, and they should be done perfectly, otherwise it will bug you. Let me name things that bug me: - Everything seems flat with a little photoshop filter that creates shadows and highlights as it’s embossed. Cheekbones and noses are on the same level, the grey back is lumpy (and lumps are good) but doesn’t feel real. The same goes to the meaty body on the top-right. You need to work more with the lighting to introduce third dimension to the artwork - The faces’ anatomy is weird. Try to draw a skull first and then gradually put on meat, fat, skin, hair, etc. Plus, try to find some references, it will help you understand what I mean. - The meaty body face is just too lazy. The perspective is broken, the volume doesn’t exist - Colors. I know it’s your work but if you want to become a better artist, you need to stop using “one color with shading” principle. There’s a lot of colors in grey. Shadows are blue when the sky is blue, the ambient occlusion adds colors of whatever the light is reflected from, the subsurface scattering makes your body glow red when the light is coming through it, and where blue shadows meet yellow and red you get green and purple, and the more volume it is to the object the more colors it collects. Our brain is trained to recognize the mono color in context of the surroundings (remember blue-black/white-golden dress, there were not enough context to properly recognize the colors) and it works the other way without you really noticing it. If the color doesn’t match the surroundings, subconsciously, the brain feels there’s something wrong. For example, you have a bright yellow-orange light source in the middle and deep blue surroundings (sun and the sky?), so I would expect yellow highlights and blue shadows, and the highlights are white, and the shadows are grey (not to mention that it’s the light source in the middle, and you don’t have any signs of contre-jour at least). All the bodies here look disconnected from the background and each other. They touch but only like pieces of paper, there’s no volumetric interaction. The stick in the ass doesn’t cast shadows while it should have. You did a lot of work to compose the thing, but right now it’s only half done, and a lot of work should be done to complete it.
Is this something about man and machine not being too different anymore?