Richard Cox

Cyclops and Phoenix by Richard Cox

Full-color Copic marker on smooth 11×14 bristol board

The costume choices are at the request of the client. The composition is your classic triangle. There’s a reason it’s classic.  I also am pushing it into an X, because, you know. X-Men.  Har, har.  Phoenix is really the character who defines the shape of the piece – she’s centrally located, and pops out from the background. I specifically chose to stay with dark blue highlights in the sky in order to pop Phoenix even more, as it contrasts the golds in her costume well (art theory, kids).  I also chose a more muted palette for the green in her costume and the red in her hair, as I didn’t want the vibrancy of the character to overwhelm the more subtle hues on Cyclops. It also help give a pretty good depth of field between Cyclops in the foreground and the background.

I’ve done the whole Cyclops/visor/crimson reflection thing in the past, but it’s a great way to add a little more variation in color to what’s basically an all-black costume.  You’ll notice his shiny gold bit mostly fade into Phoenix, so they don’t help all that much. And I say it’s a great way, but not necessarily a simple one.  You really have to keep in mind how the light plays off different textures/materials, and how, with distance and angle, it becomes more or less striking.  Compare, for example, the duller, lighter reflections on the cloth vs. that of the metal on Cyclops’ wristband.  That said, I lie and cheat in a couple of places in order to better affect the  drama or sculpture of the piece. Cyclops is also not centered in the art like Jean is, primarily because I wanted his head against a dark background to better highlight the crimson and his facial features, while also framing his head, which I’ve done with Jean’s sash and shoulder.

Really, in a lot of ways, this is a Scott Summers piece with Phoenix being a framing element.  This breaks my heart slightly.

*SOLD*

 

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