Little Red Ridinghood by jainitai

[jainitai]

This is a commission I did for our very own Mike (DAL). Of course as usual my scanner is not capable of catching all of the subtleties of the ink washes and grayscale. It makes them look all grainy and spotty. In fact, I'm almost embarassed posting this scan since it doesn't accurately portray the piece as it looks in real life. Mike will be the only one who sees how much this illustration truly kicks ass! ;D

[darkartlover]

that's killer Jai, i'm lovin the different take on the Red Ridinghood theme. poor granny just don't look like she having fun under the bed. love the old granny talc on the nightstand...great touch...lol.


DAL

[Red Dog]

Great job, Jai! Killer piece.

[paperdragon]

While there are some minor issues with this drawing its still better than 70% of the art that is being done today. The minute details that you added the chipped dresser, the paintings (is that you and your wife?) fuzzy slippers, rug with fringe and granny's hand. The wolf looks great and Red aint bad this is a fun piece.

So what am I gonna bag on you about, I cant understand why you dont want to pursue a career as a starving comic artist (actually I do ). Your style would never fly with the superhero crowd but there are a lot of other books with good writers but look like I did the art. You have a unique style that I find pleasing, the sinbuck you did for me is still one of my favorites pieces.

Congrats Mike

[jainitai]

Thanks, guys. And thank you especially to PD for your analysis and critique. That's what I like to hear. I also know there are many flaws with this piece, from inaccurate perspective to poor inking (UK would beat me for my crappy tapering lines), but sometimes an illustration isn't always about dead-on photo-realism and perfection, rather it's about doing things in a dynamic and exaggerated way to make the image more exciting and memorable.

The reason I went for this scene was because I had totally forgotten how the story of Little Red Ridinghood went. I looked it up online and read it again. There's a little detail of what's in her basket: cake and a little pot of butter, which came from the story. And of course you've got Mr. Wolf trying to dress up like granny. I thought that would look so absurd that I just had to see what he would look like trying to squeeze into her clothes. And you've got granny mauled under the bed, but in the story she actually gets completely eaten. I didn't realize either that the big bad wolf asks Little Red to take off her clothes and get in bed with him. In my version she never made it into the bed. Actually the whole story is originally a metaphor for not talking to strangers and the dangers of men preying on innocent women. Pretty cool.

[gots0]

Ive said it before Jai, I love what you can do. Thanks for sharing this piece with us.

[darkartlover]

this was waiting for me when i got home from work today. the scan really doesn't show the detail of the piece. then to boot he also sent me all the prelim pieces explaining all the steps the piece went through before he did the finnished piece. realy cool bonus there Jai

[Tim]

very cool pic but little red ridinghood looks sleep as to what i would think that she would be scared.Her emotion made me laugh alittle ...thought he was about to yawn. the other prblem you mention I agree with also.

[underw0rld]

i think she fainted when she got a glimpse of his fur stick under that moomoo.

[Tim]

fainted? ok...i can go with that . now give her better tits..look alittle flat in her dress

[jainitai]

Thanks for your comments, Tim. Yeah...fainting. That's precisely what I was trying to capture. But yeah, her look is more surprise and shock than fear, at least at this point in the image. She's more like, "Oh my god! What is this..?! This isn't grandma!" The absolute fear and horror would proceed directly after this moment when she realizes she's about to be devoured.

As far as the seemingly flat boobies, well I kind of wanted to keep it somewhat in check. I'm not a fan of drawing ridiculously huge breasts. I admit though, I could have gave the one on the right a little more projection and form.

And yes, I realize the perspective on that dresser and the objects on it are pretty much impossible in real life. But the perspective everywhere in this piece is extremely exaggerated. Very Cubist or VanGogh-like.

Looking at this piece again after not seeing it for awhile though I did notice something shocking. Look at the Big Bad Wolf's left hand. He's missing a finger! How the hell did I do that? Of course I guess you could say it's just hidden behind another finger, but you'd at least see some of the nail sticking out. I must have inked right over it. Ah, well.

[Tim]

well the right hand isn't that good either,,a for your other excuses, that's what they are...next one will be better

[jainitai]

Yeah, that's kind of how it is: the next one will always be better; the constant evolution of style, talent and abilities. I always wonder what I would be drawing like if I had continued drawing every single day after high school. That would have been 13 years of practice and experience under my belt. Such is life.

[underw0rld]

jainitai said:

Yeah, that's kind of how it is: the next one will always be better; the constant evolution of style, talent and abilities. I always wonder what I would be drawing like if I had continued drawing every single day after high school. That would have been 13 years of practice and experience under my belt. Such is life.

You would be as good as the LEGENDARY ROB LIEFELD!!!

[josephorzechowski]

lmao!!!