New print - Pele the Benevolent

Okay the title needs work but I think the picture turned out pretty decent.

What do you guys think? Too violent? Too much fire? Not enough fire? Heeds a monkey?

I love it! Colors are vibrant, brah! Dunno about the monkey. He'd be toast!

[ Edited by: PapeToaTane on 2005-04-04 20:34 ]

One of your best yet Raff, looks great.

I agree with Rodeo. One of your best yet. Fire is a terrific addition to any tiki room.

What an action scene! I don't think Pele's being too benevolent though. I really like the prismatic inlay on the tiki's forehead. Yes, it's outstanding and definitely worthy of prints.

A-A

I like the warmth. It is reminescent of an ancient and magical time. Youv'e captured the spirit of Tiki repeatedly. Love your works.

McTiki

Great atmosphere! Gladly hang this one up

Not sure about the multi-coloured prismatic sky though

I think it looks great, like Hell on earth, which is what it is. It will definately warm up the chilly nghts and make for a warm cozy tiki bar.I agree, it could go on my wall any time.
Another winner from Raffertiki!!

Great looking print. But I think there can never be too much fire.

I don't think Pele's being too benevolent though.

The islander's became content with thier good fortune, fine inlaid tikis, and well you know, their whole paradise lifestyle. They became slothful and unmotivated. Pele looked down on them with pity, and decided to give them back their motivation.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks everyone for your input. i'm glad that I'm not alone in my fixation of fire.

Hewey, the "prismatic effect" ties this to a previous work I did called Tiki Ruins. This one is actually a prequel though. I expect there to be a pre-prequel to round out this series.

Oh, and to PapeTT, I agree and think I'll spare the monkey.

The laid-back NYer

http://www.NiceFishy.com

[ Edited by: Raffertiki on 2005-04-05 14:47 ]

Yes Raffertiki, that is one spicy peice you have put together. I love the vibrancy and ambiance, Fire, good!

Chongolio

P.S I was stoked to find a nice fishy sticker in my party bag on the crawl. Yeah!

That is amazing Raffer. REALLY nice. Great job!

What do you guys think? Too violent? Too much fire? Not enough fire? Heeds a monkey?

You can't have too much tiki violence and fire. Well, maybe in theory you could have too much tiki violence, but never enough fire! I don't heed monkeys because usually their advice is unsound.

Great piece!

raffer-fishy,
that looks like real fire. Very cool. You're pumpin' out a lot of art these days! COOL!!!!

Hey, Raffertiki, that really is one of your best I'd say too. The fire looks intense and severe, which is what it should look like - Very cool...

Pele the Benevolent is phantasmagorical! I love it.

The first thought that came to mind was "Very Cool!", the second thought was a line from Blazing Saddles (slighty modified), "Won't somebody save those poor tikis?!".

:tiki:

Wow. Thanks everybody. Your encouragement keeps me going.

I'm planning to post this print on my site in a week or so, but I'll also be posting it on ebay weekly at a much reduced price to gain exposure. Be sure to check ther first if you are interested.

"Pele the Benevolent" #1/100 is up now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20147&item=7313753316&rd=1

Hey, cool painting raffertitki. I love the fire effect and dig those tiki's. I agree the monkey would be toast. I think he would need a fireproof suit.

Thanks Swamp Fire, I'll save the monkey for another piece. The smell of burning fur is pretty foul anyway.

This turned out to be difficult to make into a print. It needed a lot of tweaking.

How do you deal with the print making process?

I looked and looked, but I still can't determine what the expression of the main tiki in front is (or the others in the background) .....

Is it anguish, realizing that he himself is on fire?
Is it awe that comes with witnessing the power of hot, flowing lava?
Perhaps Joy at seeing the world (which he might have hated) destroyed?
Is he glad to be twisted so he doesn't have to face the source and the brunt force of the destruction?
Or is he trying to twist so he can accept the full fury of destruction face-to-face as a true tiki would?
Or is it simply an inanimate wood carving, with no anthropomorphic sense of feelings or attributes at all?

Don't tell us, Raffertiki - I much prefer the mystique of it all!

Vern

So be it, Ikitnrev

On 2005-04-06 22:44, Swamp Fire wrote:
Hey, cool painting raffertitki. I love the fire effect and dig those tiki's. I agree the monkey would be toast. I think he would need a fireproof suit.

I agree. I thought a spacesuit might save the monkey...

I have to agree it looks much better without the monkey!

Great work Raffertiki! I play because I LOVE your stuff! When I have the money, the first tiki artwork I am going to begin collecting is yours!

Nice! But that monkey suit ain't gonna save that monkey. I give him another second or two.

Very, very cool. Can I ask what media your using?

Can I ask what media your using?

For this style I use Adobe Photoshop. That doesn't mean I use photos. I don't. I scan in a hand drawing as a guide, then draw with the mouse. For each piece I use between 60 and 80 layers.

For those not familiar with Photoshop, please don't think the computer does all the work. In many ways this is more difficult than traditional painting, but the pay off is you can do things that you can't do with a paintbrush.

60-80 LAYERS! I have trouble with 3 layers. Wow!

I dont care how you make them Raff, They kick ass!! I hope that one day my Funds will permit me to get one.
Keep em coming.

Thanks YY and Rodeo. I have another in progress, about half through, but I have to make a decision soon as to whether it's working or not. I may have to trash it and start fresh. That's going to hurt

I never learned how to use photoshop and really do need to learn. I use an antiquated program called MS Image Composer that was distributed with Front Page 98. I learned how to use that when I was building web pages for a living back in the 90's. Since then, I haven't taken the time to learn new computer programs.

The point I was getting to is that from what I know about photoshop, each layer is a work of art in itself, and then you lay one on top of the other like transparencies, right? I'm trying to imagine 80 layers. You have the patience of a saint. I agree that working with computers is cool because there's always edit-undo! However, it's harder, too, because you're driven by the parameters of the computer program.

Your work is always very clever and nicely polished. Kudos on perfecting the medium!

Beachin',

Photoshop is one of those programs with seemingly unlimited potential. Especially if you misuse it like I do. Then again, I've been using it since it first came out. If you want to try your hand at it, let me know, and I'll give you some tips to get you on the fast track.

Which version are you using Raffer?
If I use the same one will I be able to do that???

We have Photoshop CS at work, but I use Photoshop 6 at home. As long as your version has layers you can do this.