Detailed preview of EJ Su art for IDW's The Transformers / Guido art for sale

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:39 pm

Originally posted here. From #3, but no spoilers:

Click for the full-size preview.

Wow. It's like Alternators on a page.

* * *

edit: And another 'preview' of sorts (well, a clear b&w version anyway) by Guido, of his #1 cover featuring a retro Bumblebee...

http://tfauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=101945

Transfannabeel · Post by **Transfannabeel** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:10 am

Looks great, the best art I've seen from IDW.

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:16 am

There's currently mildly heated debate elsewhere about the legs looking Gundam-ish... eh, personally I'll settle for limbs that aren't bricks with limited mobility—for realism, they need to offer a wide range of movement. Think about a human leg and all of the pivot points and tendons in one to provide the ability to run, for instance...

Pun-3X · Post by **Pun-3X** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 3:05 am

That was the first thing I noticed about the legs. Even the feet in some cases have that Gundam boot look. Personally, I don't mind SOME bits and pieces like that, but I'd prefer a blend with something else.

EDIT: Yeah, the more I'm looking at it, the more I wish they would have gone a more original route with the designs. I'm kinda hoping this is a test shot to gauge reaction, but I doubt it.

Reflector · Post by **Reflector** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 3:30 am

I think it bears noting that the majority of panels won't be from a perspective as low (and focused on the legs) as this one. I personally don't mind the new design - if they can have different alt modes than we're used to, I don't see why they can't have different mechanics. Denyer's right about the realism thing as well, though Senior certainly proved that's subsidiary... In any case, Gundam-legs don't make them look less emotional (I'd wager more: you can see reinforcement of differences in demeanour between, say, Prowl and Ironhide by the rigidity of their knees, which is accented by this style), so I certainly am not bothered.

As an aside, the goings-on under Bumblebee's shoulder looks nifty as well.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:29 pm

Originally posted by Reflector
I though Senior certainly proved that's subsidiary...

Oh, absolutely. Senior/Yaniger are my favourite TF artists, whilst being very abstract indeed. Conveying the story is of first and foremost importance.

What I'm most surprised about is one or two comments elsewhere that this art doesn't convey body language and expression—amongst many others praising the body language and storytelling, I should add—to the extent I think some tossers have just hopped on an 'anti-Su' bandwagon.

Furman's going with realism for the script, Su for realism with the art. I think it's a fine pairing...

Other points: yeah, I think this scene will involve the humans being brought to the Ark, and that's what Prowl is so het up about. And I'm digging Bumblebee's mechanics (though I can see why a handful of people aren't so keen on having stuff like that exposed, it's again part of a realistic transformation. Most of the Autobots aren't built for war.)

Angelophile · Post by **Angelophile** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:31 pm

I'm not keen on the redesigned legs - I'd have prefered a blend of these and the more iconic designs, but I don't find them offensive enough to care much.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:39 pm

Technically excellent... however, based on this one frame, and in black & white, they all look a bit samey... While (again, based on this evidence) I prefer the look of the Marvel models (entirely for aesthetic reasons), well, it's better than basing the models on clearly immobile, inflexible toys, a la Dreamwave.

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:18 pm

Originally posted by someone somewhere else
These guys are meant to look new to us, this is supposed to be the first time we have seen them. They are alien machines from outer space, not old friends.

Yup. It's the characterisation I'm around for, and even that shouldn't be static. (Writing characters to sound like echos of their Marvel profiles rather than taking those profiles as a source and developing them over the course of a story... well, that's something I think Dreamwave got badly wrong at times.)

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:21 pm

Guido's offering the original art for his #1 cover for sale...

http://tfauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=101945

Sharp inking.

It is available to international customers, by the way. Either a setting was missed when making the auction listing, or the software they use is finicky.

Wildrider · Post by **Wildrider** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:30 pm

Damn, that's my favourite cover of the original 4 as well, shame I just spent all my money on Christmas Presents.

Looks mighty fine.

Commander Shockwav · Post by **Commander Shockwav** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 3:19 am

Originally posted by Denyer
Guido's offering the original art for his #1 cover for sale...

http://tfauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=101945

Sharp inking.

It is available to international customers, by the way. Either a setting was missed when making the auction listing, or the software they use is finicky.

Eh. This cover doesn't really do it for me, except hit a nostalgia chord for being much akin to the "Plight of the Bumblebee" cover from Marvel US #16.

I don't like the over blocky legs and feet. I prefer the much sleeker look that artists like Geoff Senior, Don Fig, and even Andy "humanface" Wildman render for the bodies of our favorite bots.