Rob Liefeld
Uh-oh. Did I just mention "Rob Liefeld"?
If you are haunted by even the mere mention of his name, please go. You will probably have nightmares about this if you read any further. :P
The reason why I'm posting about him is because I can and because I want to find out why he's considered a hack. I've been hearing so much shit about Rob Liefeld that eventually, I gave into my curiosity. To be honest, I don't know much about comics or the comic industry. I was never really into the comic art style 'til recently . . . sort of.
When I first googled him, I only saw maybe like two or three of his artworks. No biggie. They seemed to have similar exaggerations like many other comic book drawings: big muscles, big guns, and dramatic values done by ink. Nothin' wrong with that. But when I looked more into his gallery and other drawings done by him . . . I was kind of at a loss for words.
Here's what I'm talking about: The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings
Is it biased? Yes, but the pictures don't lie. Whether or not you're an artist, anyone with common sense can tell that the anatomy is completely out of whack, even for a comic style. To be fair though, a lot of the pictures featured are Liefeld's older works. So, I'll give you a link to his more recent works: Rob Liefeld's sketches. I think they're a bit of an improvement, but if you compare them to his earlier drawings, you'll see that the flaws are still pretty consistent such as the characters having an incredibly small waist (compared to their torso, hip, and head) and bulgy, inflated-looking muscles.
Compare the drawings in each pair. When you see it, you'll shit bricks.
The men: sketch 7 and sketch 17
The women: sketch 6 and sketch 22
Now, compare Liefeld's works to these portfolios:
Hanzo's PK Sketchbook
Walker Boys' 2D Gallery
Hanzo tends to incoporate angular lines on his figures and uses (somewhat) thick outline width. The Walker Boys, on the other had, use more organic shapes and thinner outline width; the excellent ink shading demonstrates their attention to detail. Hanzo and the Walker Boys have different styles, but what they both have in common is their foundation in anatomical studies. If you take the time to look through some of their stuff, you'll stumble upon some of their life figure drawings and anatomical sketches. Also, look through the Walker Boys' 3D gallery. Their observation and in-depth knowledge of the human form shows. Of course, both of their works are not without their flaws. With Liefeld, however, there is quite an amount of evidence against his credibility (besides his wonky sense of proportion). For one thing, he copies other works: swiping
Okay, there are many other people out there who draw worse than he does, but they don't have such a bad publicity. So what, right? Well, the reason why he's so hated is not just because he's a substandard comic artist, but also because he's a cash cow. In addition, he's shown his unprofessional behavior at his workplace on multiple occasions (one being that he can't keep up with deadlines), and yet, he still gets paid for his illustrations. That and I'm guessing the mob mentality makes it much easier for people to bash this guy. Personally as an art student, I think it's rather unfair that he gets paid so much more than serious art professionals who have the discipline and willingness to improve their craft. Then again, I also think that fame is more of a burden than a blessing.
I've been told that "hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard," but Liefeld's a special little case isn't he? Lesson of the story? If you want a profession of this kind, don't make the same mistakes this guy has made. Take your studies seriously. Maybe you won't shitloads of cash like he does, but you're probably better off without all that entails indulgence and fame. :P
If you are haunted by even the mere mention of his name, please go. You will probably have nightmares about this if you read any further. :P
The reason why I'm posting about him is because I can and because I want to find out why he's considered a hack. I've been hearing so much shit about Rob Liefeld that eventually, I gave into my curiosity. To be honest, I don't know much about comics or the comic industry. I was never really into the comic art style 'til recently . . . sort of.
When I first googled him, I only saw maybe like two or three of his artworks. No biggie. They seemed to have similar exaggerations like many other comic book drawings: big muscles, big guns, and dramatic values done by ink. Nothin' wrong with that. But when I looked more into his gallery and other drawings done by him . . . I was kind of at a loss for words.
Here's what I'm talking about: The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings
Is it biased? Yes, but the pictures don't lie. Whether or not you're an artist, anyone with common sense can tell that the anatomy is completely out of whack, even for a comic style. To be fair though, a lot of the pictures featured are Liefeld's older works. So, I'll give you a link to his more recent works: Rob Liefeld's sketches. I think they're a bit of an improvement, but if you compare them to his earlier drawings, you'll see that the flaws are still pretty consistent such as the characters having an incredibly small waist (compared to their torso, hip, and head) and bulgy, inflated-looking muscles.Compare the drawings in each pair. When you see it, you'll shit bricks.
The men: sketch 7 and sketch 17
The women: sketch 6 and sketch 22
Now, compare Liefeld's works to these portfolios:
Hanzo's PK Sketchbook
Walker Boys' 2D Gallery
Hanzo tends to incoporate angular lines on his figures and uses (somewhat) thick outline width. The Walker Boys, on the other had, use more organic shapes and thinner outline width; the excellent ink shading demonstrates their attention to detail. Hanzo and the Walker Boys have different styles, but what they both have in common is their foundation in anatomical studies. If you take the time to look through some of their stuff, you'll stumble upon some of their life figure drawings and anatomical sketches. Also, look through the Walker Boys' 3D gallery. Their observation and in-depth knowledge of the human form shows. Of course, both of their works are not without their flaws. With Liefeld, however, there is quite an amount of evidence against his credibility (besides his wonky sense of proportion). For one thing, he copies other works: swiping
Okay, there are many other people out there who draw worse than he does, but they don't have such a bad publicity. So what, right? Well, the reason why he's so hated is not just because he's a substandard comic artist, but also because he's a cash cow. In addition, he's shown his unprofessional behavior at his workplace on multiple occasions (one being that he can't keep up with deadlines), and yet, he still gets paid for his illustrations. That and I'm guessing the mob mentality makes it much easier for people to bash this guy. Personally as an art student, I think it's rather unfair that he gets paid so much more than serious art professionals who have the discipline and willingness to improve their craft. Then again, I also think that fame is more of a burden than a blessing.
I've been told that "hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard," but Liefeld's a special little case isn't he? Lesson of the story? If you want a profession of this kind, don't make the same mistakes this guy has made. Take your studies seriously. Maybe you won't shitloads of cash like he does, but you're probably better off without all that entails indulgence and fame. :P
Posted on Aug 04 2009 by OrochiGenocide
