second illustration analysis

Cover art for "The Rider" by Frank Frazetta.

For this analysis I've chosen my own artist, mainly because I couldn't find anything on the one named on the blog. I've also been meaning to look at Frank Frazetta's work for a while - I think his work relates nicely to the theme (covert and obscured).

Frank Frazetta (1928 - 2010) was an American fantasy artist. He's worked in a lot of different media, including paperback book covers, comic books, paintings and posters. He's a very famous American artist and has a lot of influence on modern fantasy art. 

The painting I picked to analyze is cover art for a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Frank and Edgar frequently collaborated for books, perhaps the most famous example being the original Tarzan covers.

There's several elements to Frank's style that made it appealing to book and comic authors. He has a very strong sense of composition. Depending on the book, the key subject is always in the center, always in their element. For example, both of Tarzan's covers show exactly what he and the book is about, so that the consumer knows exactly what they're getting. However they're also intrigued - another notable quality that Frazetta's work has is it's sense of movement. When he depicts figures it's usually in an epic and dramatic matter, like in the middle of a battle - his work always has impact.

                                          
The dynamic figures are a key part of Frazetta's work, but his use of color is a huge factor as well. In his more "epic" paintings he uses more vibrant reds, yellows and blues. When the cover needs to be more mellow his colors appear to be more washed out but still have good contrast. In the very first picture I picked, you can clearly see he was going for a more moody and dark mood. The dominant color is black and the parts that are emphasized are the rider's pistol and his mask.
Most of Frank's work focuses on figures in action, however he has no issues drawing different subject matter.

                                          
I like Frank Frazetta's work a lot, that's why I chose to analyze him. Even though I'll be making a magazine cover for my final outcome, I can learn a lot from his artwork.