DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 6

Reggie Jackson is difficult to make interesting due to the simplicity of his "Pokemon"-like facial structure. Simplicity is wonderful when it's accompanied by a jarring incorrectness, or an incongruity in facial flow... Jackson has none of these, he's fairly geometrical, and so the search is on for where to make him catch visually. (Jackson could solve this problem for me by having a surgeon adjust his features as did his namesake, but we all know where that led, so maybe not...)
I'm working with a fish eye placement. His eyebrows are insisting on an east-west attitude, and it's natural to have the eyes follow along; because I'm using his eyes as a visual catch, his sun-glasses, which are a key to his "look" will need to be treated transparently... This may work against itself, and I may have to abandon the fishy bits... Reggie is small in the composition and it may be better to capitulate to his simplicity and let it go at that... Stay tuned.














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Quick thumbnail studies as Reggie shifts into caricature gear
















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First somewhat realistic-ish study of Mr. October; I'm already spreading those eyes out.

















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Below is a reworking of Ruth. I've decided to manipulate more of his head form, and have the features squat in a smaller surface area. It's not quite where I want it to be yet, but the head form is more appealing, and matches the other heads better.

















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Preliminary studies on what the form of Babe's head is truly about, and what angles they take.











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DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 5

Robert E. Lee has attitude, but not the enormity of visual characteristics that plague Mr. Dimaggio, still, I don't think Joe would've lasted as long on hardtack and tea... Regardless, the challenge with Lee is to maintain his sense of dignity and gallantry while pushing his features around and rearranging their priorities. Below is the first serious attempt at distortion. It likely doesn't go far enough. The real task will be keeping the visual faith while moving the point of view to above...(same issue I'm having with Joe: see farther below). Interesting how both fellows are characterized as gallant, respectful heroes...

















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Below is the first, somewhat straight study of Bob. (Lookin' a bit impish. Don't tell anybody). And boy! --Talk about hat hair!

















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Two small sketch studies attempting to incorporate more of Dimaggio's neck, and a folding of his back & shoulders. As well, I am pushing a slight curvilinear perspective on his facial structure.











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Not quite a likeness of Joe as I would like it, I'm still working on angle and form manipulation; I'm starting to dovetail the angles of all the characters. I like that nose. (Small splats are genuine Peet's Garuda Blend coffee drops --for the record).











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DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 4

Babe Ruth's face had to be come to terms with, so no better time than the present... There's not much of a head structure to play with, just a lot of pie. As with Joe, I had to do a more straight forward study first (see bottom of this post) in order to get some bearings on his mug. The study below is where things stand as of now; includes posture as well as a bit of his toothpick ankles below... if you see videos of him running the bases, it's astounding how dainty this big guy is in action. Lou Gehrig, needless to say, must have given him no end of grief about this.

















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I decided his nose was not so bulbous as in the image below, although it does start to pop nicely...
















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Little quickie sketch to show how he'll lean towards Lee as he sorts out what it all means...
















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Here I was trying to fit his features on what I perceived was a solid form for his head: and oval egg-type shape. Someone then informed me that he doesn't have an oval head. Okay. But I'll bet he'd like to have had an oval egg-type head.
















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First study
















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DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 3

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Dimaggio, at once easy and difficult to caricature; his twists and facial pulls an amusement park of features, can be difficult align correctly to make the image truly feel like him and not be simply an approximation of a Paul Simon lyric. I had to do a straight on 3/4 view study to understand what his head form was about, so I could then manipulate it into the angle and position necessary for the composition. That's quite a nose, Joe, no wonder Marilyn was smitten...














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Above is the most plausible positioning for Joe, I tried a myriad of twists and turns on his face (see some below) but it was competing too much with his recognisability. Dimaggio had a unique twisting of his body at the end of a full swing, and I was trying to incorporate that into his head... to no avail. All that pain and no gain. This is more about staging, and less about his visage at this point.













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Above, Jackson's best positioning to date.











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Above and below are earlier studies of the overall composition. Angle is adjusted, and Lee's prominence is being established. The horse may need to become more of a prop, and less of a character as he's a bit distracting... Look at them teeth! Too many sugar cubes, not enough carrots. Also, the size constraints don't allow for much horse-play.

DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 2

P.O.V. is shifted to a slight bird's eye view (an acrophobic bird as it were) allowing for a better sense of depth and immersion in the "I'm surrounded" compositional concept. Head and face readability are now compromised, and will need tweaking to remain identifiable... Fortunately, caricature is all-forgiving. Reggie Jackson is currently on the chopping block. He may be replaced by a more universal Yankee in terms of recognisability, but so far, Mantle (harder to caricature) and Berra (too much of Dimaggio's era) are falling short. Perhaps Mr. October will squeak on through after all...

















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Below, some earlier preliminary studies of Dimaggio and Ruth. Dimaggio couldn't be any funner to draw... In the overall composition at bottom we see the horse becoming a major player in terms of storytelling. The "trail behind" compostion is too billboardy, and doesn't imply enough.

DAMN YANKEES (...throes of) part 1

The following series of posts will show the progression of ideas, compositional and visual, for "Damn Yankees" the latest in a series of Black & White (brush and ink) Quadrocoils. The idea, as begun, is to have Robert E. Lee accosted by three rather nonplussed Yankees. The current roster is: Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, and Reggie Jackson. Things may change...
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