Creators: Alex Ross

Creators

A growing list of inspirational artists, writers, poets, filmmakers and creatives.

Alex Ross

For my return to the blogging world, I will do  my creator piece this week and a favorite of mine, as well as many others, Alex Ross.  Ross has made his reputation for his lifelike watercolor representations of superheroes.  The painting he's working on the above picture is this one.

Yeah, that's watercolor.  His work always looks impressive, and from what I can tell, its a result of an excellent use of reference and a dedication to craft.  In many ways, every one of his images is iconic and eye catching. He goes great pinups.

...beautiful group shots...

...and sweet composites...

Awesome right?  But like I have said before, there are plenty of artists who can make eye popping pinups and groupshots, and others can make killer covers, but the true test of an artists skill are the grueling trenches of interior artwork.  There are plenty of famous artists in the industry (even much beloved ones) that can't tell a coherent story with their artwork.  Does Alex Ross have what it takes?

Yes.

Yes he can.

No Doubt.

Ross does a great job with emotion, expression and body language.  Each image is beautiful on its own.  He has strong compositions which help to make every labor intensive painting worth the effort.

I have a strange relationship to his artwork.  I've often said to others that when it comes to artwork, that I appreciate realism for what it is, but ultimately I prefer stylization and interpretation.  to look at something and draw it as it is strikes me as easier than interpreting what is seen and adding your own flair.  But what makes Ross a special case is his use of composition.  He has dynamic and emotional images that feel at home in a comic book and also feel like your looking into a world not so far from here.  

Though it frustrates me that he is usually put on Cover duty, there are some fantastic books with him rocking the interiors.  A few are: Marvels, Kingdom Come, Justice, the FIRST issue of Masks, and a few large format specials called Batman: War on Crime, Superman: Peace on Earth, and Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth.

Though i don't foresee copying his style, I hope to one day to look down at my art board and see something that I feel as proud of as he surely does when he looks at his work.  There is no shortage of his artwork out there, so go out and look at it.

Look at IT!

See you Friday.