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Post by Aestelon on Mar 3, 2009 4:19:46 GMT -9
I got a PM from Beau last night, suggesting the possibility of some Biblical character figs, done in the style of my Highlander. He's bombarded me with ideas already, but the first suggestion he made, and one of the ones that's inspired me most so far, was David and Goliath - so I've made a start on David. As before, it's sketched and inked in GIMP (using eyelines generated in Artweaver), then cleaned up with a vector trace in Inkscape.
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 3, 2009 6:08:23 GMT -9
And here's David, front and back, pre-colouring. Actually, I could probably do with bulking the trimming lines up a bit, but I'll do that later.
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Post by WaffleM on Mar 3, 2009 6:50:54 GMT -9
You're style and technique are fantastic! He really looks great! I think he is missing the vertical strap on the back of his left sandal though. I can't wait to see him colored!
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 3, 2009 7:16:56 GMT -9
Thanks a lot! ;D And yeah, well spotted. The vertical strap was a last-minute addition to the rear view, and as I was doing the right sandal, I thought "I need to remember to do the other one". Then I got distracted, as I so often do. I'll get to colouring tonight, then have a crack at sketching Goliath. [edit] I've also noticed he has no strap on the front side of his right arm, even though I distinctly remember drawing it. I think I know what happened, though. No biggie.
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Post by onemonkeybeau on Mar 3, 2009 7:39:18 GMT -9
Andy!
David looks AWESOME!
Just as I had imagined!
Fantastic!
onemonkeybeau
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Post by kane on Mar 3, 2009 7:43:14 GMT -9
Wow. How did you draw that on the computer so fast? Do you have a tablet or are you just really good with a mouse?
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 3, 2009 13:04:06 GMT -9
Thanks! And tablet (Wacom Intuos 3 A4). I got it a few months back; it was the one big investment I felt I could actually justify - I won't spend money on expensive graphics programs or anything, but the tablet was well worth it. ;D
I can colour with a mouse, but till the tablet, I'd just draw on paper and scan.
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Post by stevelortz on Mar 11, 2009 10:19:44 GMT -9
For about twenty years I've thought it would be fun to do something with "David and His Mighty Men." David's mighty men were listed, along with a few of their exploits in II Samuel 23:8-39 and I Chronicles 11:11-47. I'm sure young boys in old Israel played "David and His Mighty Men against the Philistines" the same way we played "Cowboys and Indians" when I was a kid. David had a band of "thirty" who were with him when he was on the lam from Saul, and were still with him when he was king. While David was hiding from Saul, his "thirty" were like Robin Hood's Merry Men. When David was king, his "thirty" were like Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
Goliath wasn't the only giant. According to II Samuel 21:15-22 and I Chronicles 20:4-8, there was a giant in Gath who had several sons that were also giants. Goliath was one of them. Abishai the son of Zeruiah (Abishai was David's nephew since Zeruiah was David's sister - I Chronicles 2:16, Abishai was also one of the thirty - II Samuel 23:18) saved David by killing the giant Ishbebinob, when the giant was about to smack David. Sibbechai the Hushathite (one of the thirty - I Chronicles 11:29) killed the giant Saph. Elhanan son of Jaareoregim killed Lahmi, one of Goliath's brothers. Jonathan, David's nephew by his brother Shimea, killed a giant who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.
"Jaareoregim"... Hmmmm... Who says Michael Moorcock comes up with best names for fantasy characters!?!
Have fun! Steve
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Post by onemonkeybeau on Mar 11, 2009 11:24:28 GMT -9
Steve!
You sure know your stuff!
That's excellent!
onemonkeybeau
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Post by WaffleM on Mar 11, 2009 11:30:12 GMT -9
...killed a giant who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot... Didn't that giant have a special sword made for him, and then killed the blacksmith whose son then vowed revenge? And this is why I really should behave better and pay attention in church! My struggle to be good continues... David's Thirty would be a really cool collection. I thought about this after reading "Darien's Rise" by Paul McCusker. It's an alternate telling of the beginning of David's story, set on another planet.
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Post by stevelortz on Mar 11, 2009 14:54:39 GMT -9
You sure know your stuff! Not necessarily all that well. I studied this stuff out a couple of decades ago, so I remembered it, but I still had to dig out a concordance to get the names and facts straight. When you're able to get past the King James English and picture what was actually going on, the record from the rise of Samuel in I Samuel 1 to Jereboam's revolt against Rehoboam in I Kings 12 has got to be one of the greatest epics in western literature, including the works of Homer and Tolkien. It's got everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING! I've never seen a movie or TV rendition that comes anywhere near to doing it justice. Back then, I read every novel about David I could get my eyes on. It's funny how you can always tell what an author's denominational background is by the way he handles various elements of the story. Next week is spring break. I may get hold of a copy of "Darien's Rise" and read it. Thanks, WaffleM. Have fun! Steve
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Post by kane on Mar 11, 2009 20:38:23 GMT -9
You sure know your stuff! Not necessarily all that well. I studied this stuff out a couple of decades ago, so I remembered it, but I still had to dig out a concordance to get the names and facts straight. When you're able to get past the King James English and picture what was actually going on, the record from the rise of Samuel in I Samuel 1 to Jereboam's revolt against Rehoboam in I Kings 12 has got to be one of the greatest epics in western literature, including the works of Homer and Tolkien. It's got everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING! I've never seen a movie or TV rendition that comes anywhere near to doing it justice. Back then, I read every novel about David I could get my eyes on. It's funny how you can always tell what an author's denominational background is by the way he handles various elements of the story. Next week is spring break. I may get hold of a copy of "Darien's Rise" and read it. Thanks, WaffleM. Have fun! Steve Wow. Trying to keep up with all the Bible-speak made me go cross-eyed! LOL
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 15, 2009 19:57:27 GMT -9
I must admit, as I'm not a Christian, I don't really know my stuff in this regard; but the Internet is, as ever, a mine(field) of potential reference. I'm pretty much scanning for existing images for ideas of dress and such, and looking up articles (Wikipedia and the like) to get more textual info on the characters and stories. I'm making myself a nice little reference file for interesting Biblical characters and classic tales. Beau gave me a few good areas to start me off (in fact, as I said at the head of the thread, this whole thing was his idea in the first place...).
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Post by kane on Mar 15, 2009 20:50:38 GMT -9
I must admit, as I'm not a Christian, I don't really know my stuff in this regard; but the Internet is, as ever, a mine(field) of potential reference. I'm pretty much scanning for existing images for ideas of dress and such, and looking up articles (Wikipedia and the like) to get more textual info on the characters and stories. I'm making myself a nice little reference file for interesting Biblical characters and classic tales. Beau gave me a few good areas to start me off (in fact, as I said at the head of the thread, this whole thing was his idea in the first place...). From a strictly scholarly standpoint, I find it a fascinating period. Very interesting stories take place in that era.
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Post by stevelortz on Mar 15, 2009 21:59:54 GMT -9
I must admit, as I'm not a Christian, I don't really know my stuff in this regard; but the Internet is, as ever, a mine(field) of potential reference. I'm pretty much scanning for existing images for ideas of dress and such, and looking up articles (Wikipedia and the like) to get more textual info on the characters and stories. I'm making myself a nice little reference file for interesting Biblical characters and classic tales. Beau gave me a few good areas to start me off (in fact, as I said at the head of the thread, this whole thing was his idea in the first place...). A person doesn't need to be a Christian, or even hold the fundamentalist view of the Bible as inspired by God, to understand and marvel at the tale of David. The earliest piece of "secular" literature we have that still lives is Homer's Iliad. To the best of my present understanding, the Iliad was written in about 850 BC, and the siege itself took place around 1250 BC. David came to the throne of Israel at about 1000 BC. Whoever it was that put pen to parchment to record David's deeds probably did so, or at least began the process, while David was still alive, or during Solomon's reign, at the latest. One of the best books I've found on David is King David, The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel by Jonathan Kirsch. If you want to see just how deep the characterization of David is, find a copy of Kirsch's book. Shakespeare could have done a dozen plays on the comedy and the tragedy of David's family life. All for now. Have fun! Steve
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 16, 2009 3:52:24 GMT -9
A person doesn't need to be a Christian, or even hold the fundamentalist view of the Bible as inspired by God, to understand and marvel at the tale of David. Fair point. I guess that was kind of silly, linking two points that weren't really relevant to each other. Oh well, individually they still stand. Thanks for the tipoff. I'll have to see if I can get hold of a copy.
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Post by Aestelon on Mar 16, 2009 4:24:52 GMT -9
By the way, guys, thanks for reminding me to crack on with this! The previously-mentioned "get to colouring tonight" I mentioned never happened, so I've got to it now. It's flatted already, I just need to highlight and shade him and he'll be ready for posting!
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Post by josedominguez on Mar 30, 2009 3:23:52 GMT -9
I was just teaching a class on the true meaning of Easter, really difficult balancing what I believe (i.e. none of it... I'm a godless heathen) and making sure I don't influence what the kids believe.
Then you get to the Easter Bunny and have to explain just why bunnies represent new life ('cos they are always at it).
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Post by godofrandomness on Apr 1, 2009 6:58:33 GMT -9
There was a special on history channel that cover the military conquests of the old testament heroes of the bible, and there was a part on david, but I missed it. It covered really well the more realistic theores (or they might have proof, I couldnt pay too much attention as it was on the TV at work and a customer changed the channel so their kid could watch something less than suitable for kids) of things like the Israeli exodus and the conquering of Canaan.
I don't rememner the name of the program, but it might be a good resource for teaching this kinda stuff.
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Post by onemonkeybeau on Apr 1, 2009 7:51:30 GMT -9
If I remember right the program is called "Bible Battles".
It's a very cool program and a neat glimpse into how wars were fought "back in the day"!
I haven't seen the David and Goliath episode though... I'll have to track it down! Thanks for the head's up!
onemonkeybeau
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Post by stevelortz on Apr 1, 2009 10:02:16 GMT -9
The best book I've found on the military history of the Bible period is Battles of the Bible by Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon (the copy I have is ISBN 185367477X). In the Forward they explained that their work was based on interpreting the Bible accounts in the light of archaeaology and modern day military theory and terminology. The fact that the authors themselves have fought in defense of Israel over some of the very same ground that their ancestors also fought over so long ago brings an interesting perspective to their analysis. The book also contains accounts of battles from the Maccabean period, battles that many protestants won't find in their versions of the Bible.
Battles of the Bible was originally copyrighted in 1978, and the producers of the TV series may have used it as one of their sources.
The Art of Warfare in the Biblical Lands by Yigael Yadin (1963) is another very good book.
The accounts in the Bible give a very much more accurate picture of bronze age warfare than Homer did in the Iliad.
Have fun! Steve
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