Aquaman vs. Mer-Man

Mattel didn't hire anyone. They've said before that DC supplied the art.

I like classic art Aquaman better because his design never looked serious if applied with a modern style,the art for him looks different from the shoddily drawn merman and background,this could have probably be just a lazy cut and paste job.

Emiliano's slick presentation never fails to impress but it still reflects MYP style.

@RocketPunch:

There's no doubt his version has a much more confident grasp of anatomy, and it's on-model, which it's weird that the version DC actually produced isn't… but "incredible"? It's just a more refined, polished version of the same drawing.

Whenever people get misty-eyed about Masters of the Universe packaging of old, I always assume they're talking about Earl Norem- and Rudy Obrero-style painted fantasy art. Both of these pieces are generic corporate superhero-style art drawn on computers. One of them obviously is drawn at a higher level than the other, but I don't think it would make a dramatic difference on the shelf to the casual viewer.

If Santalucia's piece was painted, or treated to have a painted look, I could see people falling all over it. And I understand that he may not be a painter, but if he's not, what's the point here? A bland illustration drawn confidently is better than a bland illustration drawn shakily, but the WOW factor isn't boosted that much in my eyes.

Wow, I'm kind of amazed by all the criticism (or at least yawns) regarding Emilano's piece. It think people are missing the fact that he made it similar to the official piece so that they could be fairly compared.

@Dead Man Walking:

But it's not fair. The other artist doesn't get to defend himself, or explain why he made the choices he made, or the circumstances he had to produce the work under. We don't know how he was briefed (obviously not well, since he clearly was not given reference for the actual toys), or how long he's been working. This may be his first project like this ever.

This really seems unprofessional for the he-man.org guys. Running a website does not give you license to try to make other artists look bad, whether or not their work is up to par.

Like I said, I found the art pretty lame when I first saw it. I think Emiliano's goal (at least mine was in my half-assed attempt)!was to simulate the layout while making it not just little more exciting, but to use proper reference on the MOTU characters.

We can't say if Emiliano or the DC artist spent an hour or day on their pieces. The DC characters on the original are pretty solid Silver Age style renditions, so the artist isn't horrible. The Masters characters are odd and inconsistent. They look like someone was handed the project with no reference images or idea what product was being sold and told "You're on your own, have these done by 5."

As defensive as Mattel can be with their brand image, the art probably shouldn't have been approved. A pro artist is used to tweaking their work. We hear "that style is retired" often enough that you'd think all marketing material to adhere to their desired style of the brand, rather than representing what looks rushed with random Google reference.

What I didn't like about is that this set that these premium priced set of figures with little development costs and premium pricing had art that seemed rushed by whoever could cheaply and quickly do an okay job, and nobody cared enough beyond that. Keep in mind this art is not just for the packaging, but posters that are replacing comic books. The comics helped add a little value to the package, but these(very tiny) posters really don't.

I think that Emiliano did a nice job creating a piece that makes a similar statement to the actual piece, but does a better job as an exciting pack-in while selling the product and representing the brand. He was pretty much egged on to do it as a fun challenge, so I hope nobody at Mattel takes it as insult or spite. I've got to compliment the excellent coloring again. It's an undermentioned and underrated skill that is wonderfully done here.

Cool drawing. It shows what could have been produced by knowing the product and adding some details. The original artwork looks horrendous! I can't believe DC would release such amateurish drawings. And by "amateurish" I mean kindergarten-level.

I mean really, who at DC drew that piece of sh*t? Jim Lee with two broken hands, feet and his neck in a brace could draw something better. On an iPad.

@Creature E: Emiliano is a professional, he certainly wasn't setting out to make another artist look bad. If you read Emilano's post in the He-Man.org fanart section where this art was originally posted, you'd see that he actually praised the original artists work.

@Dayraven

I do think think the comic look probably has a great deal to do with how the illustration turned out. The art does carry some retro charm. Merman looks very much like he may have as Super Friensd villain, with his animated look and physique that fits with that sort of style. The figures themselves are an odd enough pair stylistically, so artwork merging styles in a convincing manner is likely to have some compromises.

I feel that the Merman compromises are a bit extreme. It's one sided in it's compromise. A DC artist isn't going to accidentally draw Aquaman with a beard and hook for a hand when he's given the word "Classics" or a mention of 80s toys. The same artist who clearly isn't provided with any reference is going to have some trouble with a different property. The comic look could have easily been achieved with a blue Merman with gloves on, right? The Stratos on the other poster looks like he's got his 2002 jetpack and feathered loincloth.

The art itself is a bit flat to me, moreso than the comics that it may be trying to emulate. It's similar to some interior art of the time, I guess, but I think artwork meant for a package and poster should have the extra of comic covers. Both are meant to generate excitement for the product inside.

I don't mean to insult the artist. I'd bet he works in house at DC because of a very profrssional ability to produce clean finished art in very few paid hours.

What I really like about it is Emiliano kept the poses and layout completely intact, he just blew the original guy's art out of the water.

@Dayraven I don't we are missing any point. You have your opinions, and just because others have an opposing view that doesn't invalidate anyone else's. I have handed plenty of stuff I don't like off to other people. Maybe that crappy poster has a purpose, but I think you are reaching here, since at that price point, I think this set here seems to be aimed at collectors. The art looks half assed and rush. If you like it so be it.

@Dayraven

I think that the senario you've presented is well explained and fair.

Also, it made me cringe a little to do it, but I handed my 2 year old my Faker for a while when he wanted it. Thankfully he doesn't chew on stuff. My girl is older, so our She-Ra/Moss-Man battle was legendary.

@FakeEyes22:

I think you and everyone are absolutely entitled to be critical of the piece, whether or not you can better it. These toys do cost a shocking amount of money and I do think it's a shame that collectors don't get the niceties for our toy money as adults that we got as kids.

The vitriol that's been aimed in the direction of the original artist (and the lionization of what amounts to a cover version of his drawing) seems unfair to me. Criticizing the piece is fine, but redrawing in comfortable circumstances in an effort to show up the original guy who drew his first work under possibly difficult circumstances to score some points with visitors to your forum seems over-the-line and almost abusive to me.

I don't know Emiliano Santalucia and can't see into his heart, so I won't speculate on his motivation here. I don't visit the site often but I do listen to the he-man.org podcast. There's obviously a lot of water under the bridge between those guys and Mattel, so maybe I've read this gesture as more hostile than it was intended, and it seemed tacky to me to throw the first artist under the bus for the sake of sticking it to Mattel. Maybe I've misread the situation, I'll concede that.

I would just like to see a bit more charity toward the artist who drew the first piece. No artist wants his work to turn out badly, and there are a lot of possible factors that could have made this piece less than it should have been.

(Sorry for such a long comment, everyone.)

@Poe: Yeah, all for fun after they've tried to sell work to Mattel over and over again with no luck. He can say it's for fun, but he knows releasing it somewhere that obsessed fans go will make people write articles like this and get him noticed. Don't be so naive.

Emiliano's art is great, as always but I actually like the retro-classic feel to the original art. Isn't it quite possible that the original artist was asked to draw in a specific style? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they are certainly free to express their opinion, agree, and disagree with others. Still, I find it a little silly that people are calling into question whether or not the original artist is talented or not and coming up with various scenarios to which this piece was commissioned. I think art can be very subjective, and its like comparing Da Vinci to Michelangelo or Mozart to Beethoven.

My biggest problem with this versus two-pack is that I have yet to see any in person. The He/Supes and Skele/Lex sets are still clogging up shelves. I'm glad I don't have any interest in the Green/Zodak and She/Girl sets because at this rate I doubt those will show up either.

Give me a paint brush and I could do better than both of them. 😀

I think all the criticism is in bad taste. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the original, it doesn't mean anything. It pleased Mattel, they used it and he/she got paid. When doing commission work, even thouh you don't like the subject matter or the style you do it anyway as its work. This is probably following the assignment guide lines Mattel gave him, for all anyone knows had he/she been given diferent instructions maybe tey could have produced a far supperior piece of work.

Nice as Emiliano's looks. The way they are holdin their weapons is completely wrong, you would not be holding a sword or spear like that if you were charging towards an enemy. The original actually looks as if they are about to engage in combat.

Also the original has a nice retro look to it like the old comics.

I thought that the package art looked pretty bad, but now that I just purchased it, and have the little poster in hand, I find that I like it quite a bit. The blue sky and white clouds look a little boring against the blue water and white crests, but I like the characters. One thing I notice is that it looks like the artist drew the characters, and then they were just pasted on a generic background. Aquaman is almost hovering in air, it makes me wonder if the unnamed artist had originally intended for them to be under water, because both of their poses appear that they could be.

True, Mer-man doesn't look like the toy, but I like the style the artist used. It looks like something that could appear in an old comic. I really like the webbed toes the artist gave Mer-man, and kind of wish that Mattel had spent the money to give him feet like those.

In any case, it doesn't appear that the artist spent a whole lot of time on it, but I like what was put together. Santalucia's pic is cool looking, but doesn't blow me away. It just looks like a different style that accurately portrays the figures in package.