Saturday, April 22, 2006

Robot

robot_1
I scanned a page from my sketchbook and used that as the foundation for this robot figure. I am a big fan of Hajime Sorayama, who made an international name for himself doing a huge body of work with the female as robot theme, some of which are quite pornographic in nature, but all are meticulously rendered and sparkle with machinelike precision. His robots have highly polished metallic bodies, and many have flesh-and-blood faces, which gives them a softer, humanlike quality. I am attempting (clumsily, by comparison) to paint a female robot without the human face, but with a sense of humanity and warmth. I am using darker, less chrome-like metals, and textures that mimic weathered bronze, which to me feels oddly organic.
Anyway, tune in for further iterations in what may turn out to be an epic (several days) Illustration Friday entry.

nikki_sketch
This is the sketch I started with.

11 comments:

AscenderRisesAbove said...

Wonderfully done. I really like the grey/blue sketch and it would be hard to improve on it.

Rectite23 said...

very beautiful!

Anonymous said...

i love your robot version of this sketch! i especially love the color of the metal you are painting and the more subtle lighting. excellent!

Twisselman said...

Simply great. Wonderful pathos. And great shock of red hair.

Anonymous said...

I like the sketch more than the final result, but the combiantion of the 2 is also very interesting.

Anonymous said...

read: combination

Jaimie said...

both the sketch and the robot illustration are absolutely amazing. I particularly love the hinges at her joints.

steve said...

Wow--this is brilliant.The dinos are AMAZING too! Top notch work here!

Anonymous said...

Another great piece! Your renderings are fantastic! Great idea for "Robot" I look forward in seeing more!

carla said...

Rick, she's really beautiful! She has a very human presence, and she's compelling in her instrospective, brooding aspect. I love that you started with a pastel drawinf of a very human form and the proceeded to mechanize her. The choice of the patina-ed bronze definitely makes this warmer than chrome, and the red hair also creates a sense of wearmth, even passion. This robot seems to be a very "deep" creature! Your work is so over-the-top wonderful!

TheTart said...

Beautiful! Love the sketch.

Smooch,
The Tart