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freaky-dragonlady — Odin - American Gods
Published: 2008-05-15 17:05:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 24963; Favourites: 224; Downloads: 0
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Anyone read any Neil Gaiman novels? Perhaps the fantabulous dark fantasy 'American Gods'?I read it some years ago, but when a university project came up to create 7 images for any piece of text, it was my first choice.
So, here is one of the seven peices, of the Real Odin, the Norse God who appears in the last few pages speaking to Shadow in Iceland. ( not the American Odin, Wednesday).
Drawn and splattered in indian ink.
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Comments: 67
No, in the Various Fanart section of my gallery there's 4 of them, I think? Upon reflection I wasn't happy with the others.
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Anytime I'd like to draw the Icelandic Odin, it turns out like yours since I've seen it:S
Because it's sooo good!!
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Thank you very much. It's an old one, but I still like it
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One of my favorite parts of American Gods, and you did homage to it, quite nicely.
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Thank you very much; I thought meeting the 'real' Odin at the end of the novel was a lovely way to round off the events too.
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Woah, amazing art
The entire time I was reading the book I couldn't really understand why the hell would the gods stay in America, since they still had worshippers in their homelands, but thankfully the last part cleared my doubts. As always mr. Gaiman didn't disappoint me
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They are shadows of the original gods, which as you say the last section cleared up, but so many of them did seem such sad remnants of what they once were.
I've glad that you like my veryson of Odin, thank you
F_DL
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I wish I could get that kind of tattered look...hell, I can't even really draw folds in clothing...
This is awesome. You, sir/madam, have skillz that most assuredly do kill.
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I do use extreme lighting though so I can use that blocked in shading; to give it a try get some loose material (a dress/skirt/fabric coat/ spare bedsheet for eg) and drape it on a chair and shine a lamp directly onto it. It'll give you an idea of the extreme lights and darks in the folds.
As for the tatters, drag a plastic across some brambles and you'll see the loose trails and little snagged holes.
Sorry, I tend to whitter...
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No, it's very helpful!
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I'm reading that book now, and I'm loving it.
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Thanks very much, I hope you enjoy AG as much I did, it's definately a top favourite of mine (and this from an indecisive person). This is a big A3 in reality - those heavy shadows took a while
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It and Good Omens are so far my favorites by Neil Gaiman. Now I need to get my hands on Sandman...
I need to work on my shadowing. >.< I think you did so well, very well strategized, even from the point of light.
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Heh, I think I pictured the Icelandic Odin as a little more jovial and grandfatherly than this. Yet I think I was projecting my Faffa's(Father's father) character upon him.
I love how Odin spoke to Shadow in Iceland: 'My people went from here to America a long time ago. They went there, and then they returned to Iceland. They said it was a good place for men, but a bad place for gods. And without their gods they felt too... alone.'
I wrote a long-winded essay upon American Gods for an English paper. I must have read the book three times while doing so and always found something new. One of my all time favourite books.
Have you read Anansi Boys, out of interest?
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Absolutely! It's a big bulk of a book which I've read...three times, now that you mention it, the final being for this project!
It sounds from your comments that I've mixed up the Odins' for you; Wednesday sounds more like your Icelandic Odin and vice-versa. I saw him as ancient but strong, and very craggy and a bit dishevelled. You can't see it in this image but he's holding Wednesdays' eyeball in his open palm, hence why he looks a bit puzzled.
Yes I did read Anansi boys, did you enjoy it? I didn't quite so much...but then again, it's a rather unfair comparison since AG is epic in its' size and scope.
F_DL
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I suppose that is the beauty of the book - each is able to invest or project a little bit of themselves with the characters.
A lot of my friends favoured Anansi Boys due to the simpler setting and less convoluted narrative, yet I enjoyed American Gods a lot more precisely because there are so many allusions and ambiguities within the story and setting.
During my youth I was well versed in Norse and Slavic mythology(my father is from Finland) and folklore, later finding Eastern, African and Native American tales - which may be why I prefer American Gods over Anansi. Yet both are thoroughly entertaining books.
Have you read any of Gaiman's early collaborations with McKean(whom I adore)? "Violent Cases" and "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch" are well worth seeking out if you have not read them.
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Erk, realised I'd not replied to this, sorry, I didn't mean to be rude.
I have read both VC and TCoCToMP though the latter I found so strange and little infocused, whereas VC, though equally meandering in its memories, had a tenseness and relatable confusion that we all know well as we age and childhood memories become unreliable.
I also want to try Black Orchid, which I beleive they collaborated on at about the same time. Have you read it?
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Heh, that is quite alright. I have not been hanging on since the question was posed.
And I have. While I do not feel it is upon the same level as Violent Cases & Mr Punch - perhaps because the property/world already existed - it certainly contributed to the depth of the DC publication. It is well worth picking up. As is Signal To Noise(if you have not already read it), which was another original collaboration from the team. While it is book which seem to be a rather divisive book(among my friends and I, anyway) it offers similar levels of production and quality.
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Fantastic - I love hunting through graphic novels and finding treasure. I'll have to find both of them now and give them a read - thank you for the reccommendations
F_DL
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You are quite welcome.
And if you are open to other suggestions I can wholeheartedly recommend:
Blacksad
Aught by Joe Sacco (journalistic/non-fiction, but beautifully told) and Raymond Briggs
Pictures That Tick - Dave Mckean(whom you shall obviously be familiar with) explores accompanies his mesmerising art with some writings of his own.
A Disease of Language - recent republishing which collects two of Alan Moore's tales: Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders
And finally: an extremely talented artist/writer called Shaun Tan. Most of his books are picture books written for children, yet I have been delighting in them over the past year(in spite of being in my mid 20s) and have yet to read one which has not left me wanting more.
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Blacksad! Joe Sacco! Shuan Tan! You went straight for my arty tastebuds, didn't you? I was so glad that all three Blacksads were finally translated last year and I couldn't believe Tans' work when I found a copy of 'The Arrival' I think it's called? I discoved Palestine when studying non-fictional uses of illustration for my MA, wonderful work.
I have to search for these too now!
Hmm, you seem to be on my wavelength so perhaps I can reccommend:
Jimmy Corrigan the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (When you see it you will not believe it's all handrawn)
Blankets by Craig Thompson (Such lovely inkwork as well as a moving story)
Black Hole by Charles Burns (If you like horror - the story isn't about what starts the problem, but how the protagonists deal with it)
If you like Raymond Briggs then When the Wind Blows will haunt you, no doubt.
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Ha ha! The same wave-length indeed. The artwork within "Jimmy Corrigan..." blew me away(even if the story never really gripped me). "When The Wind Blows" is undoubtedly Briggs' most infamous work, but "Ethel and Ernest" really is another remarkable tale - it recounts the lives of Briggs' parents: how they met and their time during the war. It is as effective and emotionally draining as When the Wind Blows.
And indeed, "The Arrival" is Shaun Tan's eponymous work. A tale of immigration told solely through his majestic artwork(which has pangs of M.C Escher). "Lost Thing" and "Eric" are well worth picking up if you can find them. They are books for children and little more than 16 pages long, but when Tan pairs what seems to be a very mundane story(I found a lost pet/object; an exchange student came to stay) - they become masterful choices when paired with his very surreal and fantastical art.
The only book you listed that I have not read as of yet would be "Black Hole", but I think it is currently sitting within my college library. I shall make effort to pick it up this week.
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Damn, you've read all but one? I don't feel I've given you a fair reccommendation list since you've given me so much good stuff to hunt for! Last try, here's a few:
Epileptic by David B
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (the story more than the art, the film adaption has great voice actors)
Absolutely anything by Will Eisner (I particularly liked Life, in Pictures which is his autobiography pretty much).
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli (came out only last year, strong concept, highly stylised art and engaging story).
...I'll presume you've read Maus.
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Heh, hitting the target once again. I have read all of those works save for Epileptic - though it has been upon my Amazon wish-list for quite some time.
And Eisner is one of those rare and wonderful things, as I never seem to run out of books by him that I can read(due to the sheer abundance of them).
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I'm reading this right now, and have not yet gotten to the part about Odin. This is a cool image. Can't wait
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Absolutely love it. Don't want to sound like a fangirl but it's one of my favourite books and - to my mind - Gaimans' best.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It's very dark and rich...
F_DL
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Well, it wasn't the REAL Odin. Wednesday stated earlier in the novel that to kill one of the gods would merely garner a replacement. So, the Odin in the end was just Wednesday's replacement since Shadow permanently killed his father.
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He's the real Odin this time - Shadow travelled to Iceland to meet him on his own soil and the guy had trouble speaking English, talking with the Norse accent. He wore the tradition garb, unchanged from original legends, and wasn't Americanised like Wednesday. Shadow even mentioned something like he knew another version or side of him...damn my memory.
When did Wednesday mention replacements? That would render the modern gods' attempts to kill the old gods pointless, wouldn't it?
F_DL
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Well when they went "backstage" the first time at the carousel that was one of Wednesday's forms. I can't remember where exactly it was in the book - it's been a few weeks since I read it - but I do remember he or one of the other gods at least saying that they would be replaced after death.
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Thanks so much! Definately my fave of the AG illustrations.
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He looks amazing! I just finished reading the book this morning and I absolutely adored it. Have a few ideas for my own fan art but doubt it will be as cool as this. I love using inks even though I make a complete mess and end up up to my elbows in it!
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Thank you very much
Don't worry about making a mess with inks, that's what they're there for! I shall tell you a little secret - I loosely sketch it out in pencil and then ink it in - purposefully in a messy, loose way as i love the energy the images have and like the splatters - using a pot of indian ink and a broken fountain pen. Who said you need a big budget? I like the width of the nib. And the day I don't get ink on my a)t-shirt b) hands c) arms d) face (I have a terrible habit of chewing the ends of pens and pencils) will be the day I'm not doing the pictures properly. Have fun the inks and I look forward to seeing how your fanart turn out!
F_dL
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Thanks for the compliment - this is an old favourite of mine
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Thank you very much
F_DL
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Wicked! I just finished reading this book--so awesome.
I pictured Wednesday as John Goodman in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?".
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I know what you mean! I have a pic of him (wednesday) in my gallery which people always say reminds them of the Colonel, that whitecoat and southern look
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amazingly drawn! I love this book so much and it seems alot of people want to realise his purely written works in image form. I think it has something to do with his writing, imagination and ability to really paint the characters in our minds. x
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I know what you mean! Such a vivid and imaginative writer, definately a favourite of mine
Thank you for the compliment!
F_DL
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