Celebrating 85 years of Popeye

Hey all. 

Here's a photo of this image I made to honor Popeye's 85th Birthday.  It appeared at the Hero Complex Gallery over in L.A. last week.  It showcased with a slew of other fantastic Popeye tribute artwork that you should definitely scope out if you feel the urge.

"Measuring the Forearms of Formidable Might"

The image was mounted directly onto a chunk of Maple wood for presentation but began with a digital file.  It was a compilation of sketching and Photoshop brush work all coupled together with my desire to make something loose and natural feeling.  Sorta like an old photograph from some bygone era.

Looking back, I really relish the line work in this image and how it effected my selections on this rough comp sketch.

My original pass was kinda direct, and I felt it was a bit too simple.  So, I wound up changing some stuff about.  I added an additional figure (which I'd been considering) and modified the layout a tad to try and carry the gag a bit further.

Removing the line work was my original game plan.  I kept feeling that it tied things together rather nicely.

I'd wanted to try and make the painting feel like the Fleischer Studios approach of using modeled set type backgrounds, with animated characters filmed over top.  I'd even considered making the figures look more like cel drawings with a heavy outline.  In the end, I liked the softer quality of the lighting within the shop, and I could only get that without using really dark outlines. 

Also, I tried to fit in as much as possible within the image that would, make the image a little more narrative and meaningful for anyone that wanted to get close and have a closer look at the image.

The Two Tailors are specific folks.

A proper pedestal for the sailor.

A rather familiar figure on a fashion type pin up calendar.

I put a fair amount of time into it and am pretty satisfied with how it came out.  Certainly I ran into some bumps along the way.  But, in retrospect I feel like I've learned from this image and can use that knowledge to make even more cool stuff in the future.

Thanks for checking this out.
I yam what I yam, and hope you dig it.

P

P.S.  As always many thanks to the shows organizers for letting me make some art and share in another awesome show.

I paid this doofus three bucks to hold my artwork, so I could take a photo of it.