Having tried my hand at digital art with Photoshop, I have to say that I really…REALLY admire the hell out of artists who work well with it.  OK..I’m no trained artist but I’m still mesmerized by the technique when someone can master it.  One of those who has truly mastered digital art is Bruce Colero.  SQP has just released Heavenly Bodies:  The Art of Bruce Colero.  It’s my first time seeing his art and I was absolutely blown away.  Digital truly requires a whole different approach than traditional artwork.  The enhancements of light, shadow, and the use of color is so integral to digital art.  Bad technique stands out like a sore thumb while masterful technique is dazzling.

This 48 page collection is full color and shows off Colero’s vast talent with the female form.  The themes range from fantasy, to Sci-Fi, to horror and to comic books, each page featuring Colero’s dynamic artwork.  One painting that strikes you right off the bat is “And Lead us into…”  This piece shows off a striking female demon, nude but with flames swirling about her body in all the strategic places.  Now you really have to pay attention to the flames here.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen flames in a piece of art look as real as they do in this painting.  The coloring, the shape…you can almost see the flames moving around her body.  It’s a brilliant piece of art!

Another magnificent example is “Rio” showing a nude blond, with her back to the viewer, wading into knee-high water on a beach as the sun sets in the background.  The coloring and shading is just unbelievable.  You look at how the sun reflects off the water’s gentle ripples and you wonder how Colero manages to be so precise and so accurate in his rendering of this paradise.  The female form has rarely looks this good, even if it is a bit exaggerated in its perfection.

Highlighting the book for me is the inclusion of several well known subjects such as Lady Death, Vampirella, Elektra, and The Black Cat.  The Black Cat is perhaps my favorite piece in the entire book.  She sits crouched upon a building’s ledge, contemplating her next move but poised for action.  This is one piece of art that would like great on your wall.  “Heavenly Bodies” is a collection that any fan of pin-up or glamour art should own.  SQP has delivered another outstanding art collection!

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2007 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Tim Janson, Books, Comics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.