Strange Behavior (Illustration) Entry: David Harrington

#48

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.

Karko: it’s funny, at the beginning my first idea had been to put the drawing on the panel beside him, but in the end I decided that for me this was too blatant and I hadn’t wanted the drawing to intefer with the cast shadow. With it on the table I guess a viewer has to work harder to find the story so I don’t know if it is the right decision, but at this point I’m afraid I don’t have time to change it as it would require changing the composition on the table.

Cabertevon: thank you for your kind comments - I’ve never got stars before :slight_smile:

Frotze: thanks David, especially for pointing out the shadows. I am learning XSI as I go on this one and had decided to deal with shadows with a shadow pass. In the end the shadow pass didn’t work well (not sure what I might be doing wrong) and I had sort of forgotten about them being too sharp in places. I’ve re-rendered with an area light (renders take about an hour at 4000 pixels high, so not too bad) to soften them up a bit (not too much though, as I want the profile to be readily discernible).

guterrez: thank you and you are right - the right-hand side needs some variation. I’m not to keen on cropping it closer as this would feel to me like it was severing his left leg (even though you can’t see it). I think I will add the barely visible highlights of a long curtain - more colour variation than obvious shapes.

Korendo: thank you - I did have some other objects to include (callipers and ink pot and quill) but just couldn’t fit them on the table in a pleasing way. Although this is the result of an obsession, the final act is compulsive as per the choleric type, so I wanted him to be a bit divorced from any thought of the consequences - the bleeding bowl on his lap is the only concession to that.

MartinNielsen: thank you - almost there :slight_smile:

Nemesix: thank you - funny and disturbing is good :slight_smile:

#49

Wow.
Id say that the element of your piece which brings the best out of it is actually your intense research on the subject. You’ve compiled great references and have the essence of the idea well thought of. Great job!

#50

Great responses! Keen wit! Ha Ha

“obsession, the final act is compulsive as per the choleric type, so I wanted him to be a bit divorced from any thought of the consequences” I am so glad he wants to stay male! :wink:

Look forward to your artist statement. :lightbulb

#51

I’ve re-rendered the reversed parts and painted over a few bits and pieces to clean up ‘odd’ shadows and the like. Also softened some of the shadows and added a very basic curtain on the right to break up the solid black.

I think this is about it - I’ll just sit on it for a few days and see how it looks with fresher eyes then.

#52

Cose-up of the man.

#53

And a close-up of the bust - I don’t think the phrenology details show in the low res jpeg.

#54

a very impressive modelling, david. it’s all very dramatic and disturbing…in the right way…great textures ( is there any meaning in the writing on the parchemin? looks like it…tried to read it onyour close up but too fuzy). did you painting the hair of the wig? real nice combination.
one note on the close up of the mannequin head, as the light area of the book create a tangent with the mouth of the mannequin, like it’s sucking on a pencil, breaking a bit the reading of the face…
i say well done, sir!!!
good luck, mate.

#55

i was watching this for quite some time man. i tend to be quite on the forums for some reason but its turning out to be quite the piece. desturbing and funny at the same time. it really plays on how cosmetic surgery is the thing with ppl in in the spotlight. great work. i really dig everything here.

#56

David, “to put the drawing on the panel beside him”, it’s just an idea because, in fact,the shadow of man is very expressive and has an Expressionist effect that is more in harmony with your subject…

(Man’s shadow seems to be that of Alfred Hitchcock!)

Marc.

#57

Hi Dave,

I do get a dust feel from that image. Here is a dumb poem I altered as a humble offering.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
Shortening your nose,
May be the end of you!

#58

OH MY!! . . . Cool and terrible!!! It makes me say…WOW and BRRRRR…

#59

[font=Arial]Sure looks like he is going through with the self inflected nose job. It does make me wince. Eeek! :eek:
[/font]

#60

Thanks for the comments - I’m all done and will be uploading the final very soon.

Fyra: thanks - sometimes I’m sure I prefer the thinking than the doing - I really enjoy researching behind a subject.

Korendo: thanks man. “I am so glad he wants to stay male!” - this reminds me of a book I read in which a man of the cloth resorted to this because he was having troubles with his vows - I just can’t remember what book it was, which will do my head for a while! And I laughed at your poem - a very clever epigram indeed and fit for the drawing room :thumbsup:

olipaf: thank you and well spotted. I’ve adjusted the book by lowering it - I would have just painted it darker, but I was also unhappy about the way the corner of it met the corner of the man’ elbow. The writing is mostly a shopping list for parts, but there was a small rant about being held hostage to his nose and an anatomical dedication to Lavater, one of the fathers of ‘modern’ physiognomy. The wig is a paintover - I was nervous about getting it to integrate with the 3D but was happier than I expected about the way it came out (my 2D skills are so rusty).

Slav: thank you - I hope you can finish yours on time.

Karko: thank you, and you are right - it does look like hitchcock!

OZ: thank you - good luck with yours.

#61

“Such a monstrous nose, said they, had it been a true nose, could not possibly have been suffered in civil society – and if false – to impose upon society with such false signs and tokens, was a still greater violation of its rights, and must have had still less mercy shewn it.” – The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Stern (1713-1768)

“Among the numerous stratagems by which pride endeavors to recommend folly to regard, there is scarcely one that meets with less success than affectation, or a perpetual disguise of the real character by fictitious appearances.” – Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

A man whose volatile passions have distanced him from polite society has sought a solution to his problems in the self-serving writings of assumed wise men. These men, forging from flesh and bone and prejudice the modern science of physiognomy, have described how the external appearance, particularly of the face and surrounding regions, reflects the inner character. In these words he has learned that his is the face of a choleric man, which advertises to society that he is in possession of strong appetites and given to impetuous and wilful outbursts. So surrounded by the shadows of his obsessions, the self-diagnosed choleric submits to the compulsion of his temperament and readies himself to cut off his nose to spite his own face. His vainglorious pride, the very thing he hopes to amputate, has led him to strap himself into his physiognomist’s chair, with the stark reality of his damning profile beside him and the modified craniometer, designed to measure the man and guide the cut, over the offending anatomy. According to the theory, in so modifying his visage, this will be his last act as a choleric man, after which he will not have to look down his nose at himself any longer. And true to his prescribed character, the only concession to the consequences of his actions is the bloodletting bowl in his lap, there to catch the ill humours that so trouble him.

My thanks to everyone for their comments and encouragement throughout the past four long months. And now I am off to cut the lawn - it is spring here and the grass is very long and I’m sure my neighbours are not impressed :slight_smile:

#62

Honorable & Cogent David,

Deeply moving, still, madding, lonely and desperate. I feel a sad kinship to him. This is undoubtedly one of the most upsetting and strange behaviors possible. Beyond his action it is a reflection of tragedy based on misconceptions and social bias. Your writing and image really send a powerful message. Congratulations. :applause:

I found this odd but related story on the web, it gave me hope for him in a surreal way
:eek:

“A man with a wooden nose knocked on my shower door. I peered round the frosted glass but couldn’t hear what he was saying. I tried to turn the water off but the shower knobs had disappeared. Without a word the man unscrewed his nose and gave it to me. It made a perfect shower handle.” - samsara

#63

WOW what a concept!! is really deep and meaningful an so well exacuted! I can’t think of a better and more elegant way to show this moment … not gory, but brutal nonetheless… and the Rembrand-like mood reminds of other moments like that… Just very well landed!!
this is a great image.:thumbsup:

#64

I loved this one from the beginning, and i’m so happy to see you finish in time! You captured the mood brilliantly, and I love how it stills applies to our everyday life of appearances and prejudice. It’s the kind of work that you just can’t looking at without holding your breath (and eventually die if you forget to breathe again, but it’s just a matter of practice, really). Anyway, wonderful entry, strange behavior all the way, and good luck for your lawn. :slight_smile:

#65

Excellent picture ! Great lighting and modeling !
The topic is great too !

#66

To me this image gets the nod for most shocking. I wonder how he would look if he wore Groucho Marx eyeglasses, nose and mustache? I guess that would reduce the shock but maybe make it funny, always a hard balance. Anyway a great image! Best of luck :slight_smile:

#67

wicked! i personally wouldnt resort to chopping off my nose. but hey if he is that sure all the power to him! great execution!