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©2008-2009 ~godwinfj
:icongodwinfj:

Artist's Comments

"What truly, is our culture of fear perpetuating? What are we protecting? When you are called to duty, will you kill or be killed?"

This piece of work is formed of the culmination of thoughts, emotions and experiences from my two years of mandatory national service spent in my country's armed forces. Through it, I seek to explore issues rarely touched upon due, not least, to the horrifying realities of war - issues pertaining to the citizen soldier's psyche, his freedoms versus perceived duties, and the functions as well as validity of a standing army as a deterrent force.

February 2008
Photoshop CS2
Revision of an old idea that was horribly executed. I'm not going to show it here but you can find it in my blog archives.

Download for larger view at 1400px. Detail crops here.

Comments


love 0 0 joy 2 2 wow 0 0 mad 0 0 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconcephcepheus:
This is a terrifying image. It makes me feel involved in the scene, as all Hell breaks loose. Damned good work, Godwin!

--
"From my rotting body flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity." Edvard Munch.
:iconbloknayrb:
Wow. Just wow. Stunning detail, lighting, feeling, everything is just great.

--
There's a reason that little guy looks so oblivious.
My blog: [link]
:icongodwinfj:
Thank you. That is the general idea, I don't think many people here ever imagine what it'd be like if we were to fight a war on our own soil or to see our fellow dead. Not that anyone should indulge in such thoughts about destruction, but it just felt disconcerting given all the flashy recruitment ads, the talk of duty, and seeing completely different things happen within an organisation that makes one question the purpose of serving.
:iconeighty-three:
Amazing, how long did it take?
:icongodwinfj:
Thanks. I'm really not good at keeping track of how long I take to work because I tend to leave many larger pieces alone for a long time before returning to them. This one was dragged out over some 5 months (with 3 main stretches)? I'd say up to 40 hours or more?
:iconabsolute-chaos:
Damn... thought i was going to be the first artist i knew of which painted a pic with the SAR21. Ah well.

Great piece btw, excellent shading and atmosphere
:iconsxd-gfx:
very cool, great atmosphere indeed :) maybe misses some sharpness, but the blur also gives a certain feeling :D

--
Sxd-gfx reporting: [link]
GFXDesign.nl: [link]

Details

February 29, 2008
286 KB
116 KB
1024×672

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