A tribute to the north

[Hnikar]

to those of you who checked out chainers thread, as promised i moved this to my own thread.

firstly, tyra, isn't oden's large hat usually linked with him being portrayed as oden the wonderer, not oden the warrior? most of the 17th and 18th century paintings portraying oden is him with a helmet with horns sticking out. i like the helmet thing more but the horns i totally dislike. that's why I wanted to go for the more thor typewinged ones, but with an entirely new spin. a hat just doesnt say battle to me. and then regarding the shield, wood with iron/bronze strips keeping it together, or completely iron/bronze? i was leading toward the iron thing to match up with the iron sword and spear. were the shields engraved with celtic symbols?

i have to do a comic book 2, but that's only in 8weeks time, and i thought fuck it, why not do everything norse, as the assignment stipulated a fantasy enviroment with characters you associate with?

th first thing that came to mind was AA song about the beaheading of the king or god's of war arise.

ill keep you guys posted on the progress and i would apreciate any and all criticism on aspects like cloathing and stuff like that. be warned, my characters will al be very muscular and look very strong, as this is my interpretation of fikings. i'll probably upload the first pics off my initial LINE DRAWINGS after the weekend, and don't worry, i have my own scanner and digital camera if the scanner fails. like i said initial drawings, so don't epect texturing an rendering as of then. but the bassic form will stay the same as i start adding color and so forth.

okay guys, thanks for all your input thus far. as an artist one oftenly gets indulged in your work so one needs input from outside sources to make small details you missed, come forward into the light

 

[Tyra]

Well, hmmm, how to answer about the hat...
Odin the Wonderer also crops up in the midst of battle, you see, so it wouldn't be entirely wrong. But you are right, in that if you would want him to be portrayed as a warrior, then he should wear a helm. Then that opens up a whole another can of worms, cuz there are no finds of Norse helms. You could probably get an idea of what they would have looked "something like" by looking at the period before the vikings, vendel age.

(apparently doesn't want to upload - try this link and see if it works: http://www.historiska.se/collections/treasures/vendel/71.html )
Fancy shields would have been made with wood covered with leather (or just plain wood). The metal ones are from earlier in pre-history than the viking era, but they do look very cool for the purpose you're after. Mind you, you could make it a "wood with decorated leather" one, with an absolutely wicked shield boss./ T

 

[Hnikar]

thanks 4 the help tyra. that is pretty much what i envisioned. i drew inspiration from the helm used on the crusher album. the only reason i want to ad the wings or horns is becoz that has kinda became the stereotype when refering to vikings(sy i don't know). i just want to make him more recognisable coz when i mentioned the edda, my lecturer didn't know what the fuck i was talking about

 

[L33ch]

Sticking to stereotypes when they're incorrect just for the sake of keeping it recognizable is a bad idea. If you don't stick to stereotypes, but rather, stick to facts, your art could even teach people some things, and not just look pretty.

 

[Hnikar]

i get what your saying leech, but how do i trie and teach them if they don't even have some ground knowledge of the subject matter. they are more likely to interpret my creation as a mere barbarion, rather than the true norse diety he is.

 

[Tyra]

Well, if you wanted to get around that stereotype thing, you could decorate both the shield and the mail with Norse symbols. Fpr example, it'd be perfectly period to put Elgiz runes all on the sheild, or a large suncross across the whole thing or on his mail. Or park a horn in his raised hand.
Anyhow, Odin's iron age worshippers may not have used horns, as in the stereotype, but it is thought that priests that worshipped in the same Scandianvian countries a few centuries earlier (bronze age) used horned helms as part of their ritual get up. So, not too far fetched, even if it is not technically right as we know Norsemen today. Besides, he's a god. He can do what he wants. If he can come to me in the shape of a wolf, then why not to someone else with a winged helm?! Use your creativity towards getting a feel of how you "feel" him, not how someone else stereotypes him. Then you get the true essence of him, and THEN everyone will be able to see him for the God that he is. IMHO./T

 

[Knarfi]

Besides, he's a god. He can do what he wants.

Wow, you make me thinking "how should i make myself look if i were a god.."

(sorry for OT, but i cant really help you here, since im learning from this forum instead of teaching )
But good luck man! I hope it will look great!

EDIT: oh btw before i forget, i find the way you post a bit annoying, you have like 6 posts in a row instead of 1 big one.. you might wanna try the *edit* button instead?

 

[F_Slim]

I only know paintings with Odins helmet having wings. I've never seen one with horns ...
But I don't see Odin so much as a warlord anyways. To me he is more a quiet thinker, seeking for knowledge all the time.
It's easier to portrait him as a god of war (since it makes him look strong and powerfull), but I think that's his least important aspekt.
I see him as a loving father, watching over us ... but also as a sad and wise man, trying to gather more wisdom, so he can "outsmart" our fate.

 

[Hnikar]

oh, sorry knarfi, didn't see that little button there. i'll be sure to use it from now on! F_slim, i here you. to me he is also more than just the powerfull warrior. he brings his years of knowledge to battle to strategically fuck the opponents. to portray the idea of knowledge i'll have to do a long beard or something. not sure yet.

i cleaned up a bit KNARFi so no reason to bitch anymore

 

[Knarfi]

oh, sorry knarfi, didn't see that little button there. i'll be sure to use it from now on! F_slim, i here you. to me he is also more than just the powerfull warrior. he brings his years of knowledge to battle to strategically fuck the opponents. to portray the idea of knowledge i'll have to do a long beard or something. not sure yet.

i cleaned up a bit KNARFi so no reason to bitch anymore

Hehe i wont

Anyway, i do agree that Odin isnt a warrior type of god.. i mean thats more Tyr/Thor/Ull 'ish.
Yeah the beard sounds nice, a bit like an old wise man from who sits in the hut on the forest side of the village, where people go and ask him for wise words before they start their journey. Yeah, my fantasy is going wild again, again, good luck with the drawing

 

[Hnikar]

Hehe i wont

Anyway, i do agree that Odin isnt a warrior type of god.. i mean thats more Tyr/Thor/Ull 'ish.
Yeah the beard sounds nice, a bit like an old wise man from who sits in the hut on the forest side of the village, where people go and ask him for wise words before they start their journey. Yeah, my fantasy is going wild again, again, good luck with the drawing

do you guys think i should rather go with tyr? i would then just have to chp of my models hand, and duplicate the eye, but it would be minor work.which was the lost arm, right, left?

 

[Tyra]

If you want to do "wild vengeance beserker type", then it's Vidar you want. He may not be the God of war, but he is the God of vengeance. Tyr is also a God of war, but not the furious raging bull that you want to portray. Tyr is no less of a thinker than Odin, and has a very gentle, caring side to him, just like Odin, only Tyr is less fickle. For furture reference, if you want to do Norse and angry, do a Valkyrie...

 

[Hnikar]

i love the valkyries but i wanted to go with a male model, becoz i already had male anatomy refrence images i drew for a other subject. i'll go check out vidar. does he also have some missing body part like tyr and odin? i want to to use this model for my final year maya project aswell. we're doing a castle(one you design) and i have to show the interrior and exterior. i want todin or whoever i deside him to be running around inside, rather than just simply panning through it with the camera as specified. any recomendations on a enemy, as i want oden and enemy to slam each other into the walls

my head is almost completely modeled and textured. the eye came out great, and i just have to decide whether i'm gonna keep the hair grey or change it.i just have to do the bumpmapping in the face to add wrinkles. i'll post as soon as it's finished

 

[Knarfi]

Surtur has my vote for the enemy for sure. I see him as the strongest and most agressive giant.. Big flaming sword.. hmmmm makes me wanna eat a hamburger

 

[F_Slim]

If you want them to run around in a castle fighting, it should be Thor and some giant(s).
I can't imagine Odin doing something like this.

 

[Sleipnir]

If you want to do "wild vengeance beserker type", then it's Vidar you want. He may not be the God of war, but he is the God of vengeance. Tyr is also a God of war, but not the furious raging bull that you want to portray. Tyr is no less of a thinker than Odin, and has a very gentle, caring side to him, just like Odin, only Tyr is less fickle. For furture reference, if you want to do Norse and angry, do a Valkyrie...

Hey T? Don't forget about Freya......

She is known to have quite the temper, remember Bringsamen burstin asunder?

And tell me what ya think about this Tyr drawing, got it finished about 2 months ago........

http://flying-draugr.livejournal.com/14129.html

 

[Hnikar]

this is pretty much the texture i.ve got going on my eye. i didn't know what color the eye should be, so i went with blue coz it looks awsome with the whiteish greay hair i got. still have to do some work on the vains.

i think i'm gonna go with tyr. i found this awsome image of him while surfing around for refrence. i also love the oly one hand attribute, as it gives him some character.

oh yeah, just a question. how big were the giants? coz some of the pics i've sifted through dipivted them as only a little bit bigger than the asgardians. my model is scaled model of a 1.9m human so what length for giants. i like the flaming sword mission, just haven't done it before so it will be nice and challenging. for the giant i was also thinking very muscular bu obesce asweel. a nice beerbelly from all the drinking or something

 

[Tyra]

Aaaaaa - Sleipnir! You've got that Odin image on your back! I did a version of it in stained glass for Johan. Completely re-drew it based on the original, then transferred it to clear leaded glass. J wanted to use it for the last cd-cover, but the idea fell through. Interesting that we both have versions of- but not the original happening in our heads.
The Tyr looks awesome. Was that the tat that you at first were not happy with? I'd like to get som work done on my other bicep (the right) to balance out the Aegismundr on my sword arm. The thing is, that it's got to be something close to the same power as the Aegismundr. If I had a bigger bicep, I'd put Johan's image on it...LOL.
And I didn't forget about Freya - not at all, I actually had the same thought you did - but Dude wanted a male figure, so I didn't bring it up. Couldn't resist about the Valkyries, though. There's a certain amount of sisterhood happening there... Oh, speaking of which - remind me to tell you, Sleipnir, about the new interesting developments at the kids' school!

Hnikar, I'll get back to you later - we're going fishing, and I have large men with sharp implements waiting... In the meantime, I think some of the answers you are looking for might be under the thread in this forum called "Viking mythology and all that goes with it".

 

[Sleipnir]

The Tyr looks awesome. Was that the tat that you at first were not happy with?

Yeah, when I looked at it in the mirror when they put the stencil on I didn't notice it was inverted and therefore the wrong wrist was in his mouth........

And I didn't forget about Freya - not at all, I actually had the same thought you did - but Dude wanted a male figure, so I didn't bring it up.

And apparently if I had saw that I wouldn't have brought it up either, oops,lol

Oh, speaking of which - remind me to tell you, Sleipnir, about the new interesting developments at the kids' school!

E-mail me when you get a chance!!