Thanks guys, like I said, I always wanted a photorealistic Guts image, just never took the time or effort to really put it together until this poster concept (and even then, I was hoping CnC would just do it =).
Like Aaz and Chung explained, it's basically someone's excellent cosplay with Wally Szczerbiak's head thrown on top, as well as some beefed up arms using the trusty clonestamp of power. At one point I was even going to try to transplant Arnold's arms on there, but that just wasn't going to look natural.
As for the poster concept, it's basically one of those individual character posters. I wanted to keep it simple and down to earth looking and have the focus be on Guts obviously, so I just modified the original background to fit the size and to more "feel the part" of somewhere mysterious and decrepit where you might run into the Black Swordsman. Speaking of which, I left in the iron supports coming out of the walls because you really can't tell what they are (could be vines, or snakes!), and they look cool. Movie mistake! =)
Basically, I wanted it to convey a feeling more personal and gritty than epic and polished, and I'm pretty happy with it; which is to say, look for me to shamelessly post it and link it an innapropriate and obnoxious amount of times.
Anyway, let's keep this wreck a rollin'. I'd love to see someone go the epic route with a photorealistic character montage, Star Wars/LOTR style. In any case, MORE SUBMISSIONS!
I saw your signature in another thread, anxiously clicking the link to see what details were behind this movie.
1. Hot damn that is a mighty fine looking guy! 2. God dang it I have to find the movie so I can import it. 3. Man.... *wiping away drool as delicately as a lady can :p *
Thank you for the kind words. And yeah, I figured a little clever (false) advertising couldn't hurt the thread any. I'm happy to see it worked.
I don't know Griffith, you did a great of job with that poster that many a fan boy is probably spreading rumors of a Berserk movie poster as we speek..
Great work though! I had this great picture of schwarzenegger I was trying to photoshop Guts' mechanical arm onto, but it didn't work out well. Might come up with something in the future though.
Sorry Griffith, but although that is a great piece of work, i didn't like it. It doesn't look like Guts too me, he seems too young and pretty, needs more scars and "roughness". And the most obvious point, he's too damn short!
Personally i would've chosen Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher for the model (body & face), he looks like a younger Rutger Hauer, and has the perfect chin and that natural washed out expression for Guts.
Too short? If you mean Wally Szczerbiak, he's 6'7". If anything, he's too TALL for Guts (Guts is ~6'4" according to a recent stat in YA, thanks Aaz). Apart from that, what visual cues make you think he's too short? What's your frame of reference, Donnie?
Few problems here. a) Rutger Hauer doesn't look anything like Guts to begin with... b) Lundgren was born in 1957. So, he's now teetering on 50. c) The "perfect" chin? Lundgren has a square jaw, so much so that I can literally hear Jay Leno frothing at the mouth in jealousy. Besides, it's too defined for Guts. Guts' face is far more sinuous.
In the end, it's just your opinion. I just personally think that Wally Szczerbiak gives off the "impression" of Guts better than other contenders. But no one can be perfect, seeing as it's a fictional character we're trying to match up to.
In addition to what Walter said, Guts is pretty young and handsome in spite of what he went through all his life. And while Wally Szczerbiak doesn't have enough scars, neither does Dolph Lundgren, so I'm not sure that's much of a point.
not to mention that with the power of Photoshop, I'm sure Griffith could go back into the poster and just add some scars to him. Not that it's needed because this is just all for fun
For all of you: when i mentioned Dolph Lundgren i was talking about his Punisher character, and if you saw that movie you know what was my point. Dolph in that movie has a rough, scared and dirty look, and deep vengeafull eyes that remind me of Guts mostly in the Black Swordsman days (like Griffith's poster).
Walter, when i mentioned his height, i wasn't talking about Wally Szczerbiak, but the model Griffith used for his poster (some small asian dude cosplaying).
Oh, and Rutger Hauer was just a small reference (albeit a dubious one) much like that actor was a model for Miura.
In the end, i still think Dolph's chin gives him that somewhat sarcastic edge, oposed to the boyish looks on Szczerbiak.
Uhh well a lot of people do, especially women, so I think I'm not going to give too much credit to your opinion on the matter.
when i mentioned Dolph Lundgren i was talking about his Punisher character, and if you saw that movie you know what was my point. Dolph in that movie has a rough, scared and dirty look, and deep vengeafull eyes
Well yeah, he has more of a vengeful look in his eyes while posing as The Punisher than Wally Szczerbiak posing for the NBA, but as far as it goes he doesn't even look very rough or "dirty" on these pictures you posted, he's still a pretty boy. And since the thread is about making a poster it's all that matters.
I think Walter's point included "how do you know he's small?" What in the poster indicates it? He seems well proportioned to the DS he's carrying, and the rest of the picture can't reallybe used to guess his size.
Yeah, pretty dubious I'd say, I think we can all agree that Rutger Hauer wasn't much of a model for Guts in reality, and that they don't look alike.
In fact I find Wally's expression relatively sarcastic in the picture Griffith used, more than Lundgren's on the DVD cover actually.
Anyway, aside from all these discrepancies I understand why you would see Dolph Lundgren in the role, so why not give it a try and make a poster out of it? After all this is what the thread is all about, so let's be productive! Clothe him like Guts and prove your point the hard way!
Yeah, Dolph Lundgren looks good for Guts in those Punisher shots (especially the front cover image), but Szczerbiak just looks more like Guts in general, facial feature to feature, whatever the picture. They could play Guts from different eras though, or in different movies, like James Bond.
Anyway, other than that, I obviously disagree and find some of your points more subjective than substantial. Looks too young? Guts is still in his early 20's.
Adressing your other issues, yes, the original model is obviously too small, but that's why, if you notice, I shrunk Szczerbiak's head in the shot to make him Guts proportional. Other than that, there's no frame of reference other than the DS which is sized to the body (as it should be). As for the rest, I'm just not a fan of adding a bunch of random scars and blood and other such shit unless it's called for in the context of the picture (Miura doesn't either). I've done it before, and it just mucks it up and would go against the cleaner and stylized look that would fly as something you would see out in the theater lobby. His skin looks rough enough for Hollywood work, and from a distance the scars shouldn't be so visible or it would look cheezy, it's a good starting point. Afterall, if it was too messed up to begin with, we wouldn't get to see the progression of scars throughout the film. =)
Speaking of which, remember that it's supposed to be someone playing Guts in a movie, not like a photograph of Guts (but I think it serves that purpose as well in a stylized presentation, as much as movie posters do, i.e. Spider-Man). Even still, I don't think he's too handsome or pretty for that, Guts does happen to have good looking features (and I don't think Dolph is much different in that regard, other than his features don't resemble Guts' as much).
Following up on that, like I said, not only does Szczerbiak more genuinely resemble Guts, there's a lot more of Guts in Szczerbiak's expression there; Lundgren has a blunt stare in those shots, and while that's very appropriate for Guts generally, the Szczerbiak shot is more interesting and expressive; cocky and sarcastic, dangerous (the DS helps), and kind of an asshole; basically, early Black Swordsman (also telling that he looks like Guts even when he's not making, as you put it, a "natural washed out expression for Guts" that Lundgren is making or I or anybody could make if they wanted to look like Guts in a narrow way). Finally, Lundgren is obviously more recognizable, and I was going for more of a no-name vibe here to further emphazize Guts and leave some mystery to him.
That basically sums up my point of view. As always, thanks for the comments. A little creative difference and "controversy" is a good thing, and I'd love to see a poster with Dolph as Guts.
I tried to make another one, here's the result. Hope you guys like it despite my lack of actual photoshop skillz.
I think the hieght problem would go away when you take away what we're relating it to. Perhaps shrink the size of the background or the plants?
Since he's in front of a black background mostly you could probably get away with a little transforms.
What problem, though? You're telling me those plants make him look unbelievable at a rather meager 6'4"? It's totally relative. He could be 10 feet tall in that shot for all one can tell, but people obviously don't think that way. Trust me, I watch pro basketball players almost everyday, where the illusion is most apparent.
I've got plenty more examples too, including MJ (who has two inches on Guts, and wasn't considered big) looking like Allen Iverson (who's 6' himself yet is considered a "little man"), and shots of Shaq standing alone in his LA days where he might as well be as big as Verne Troyer. Basketball players look normal and even skinny standing next to each other and we speak of them in relative terms (Kobe's not a "big man", he's only 6'7" afterall), so despite the fact we know how tall they are, we honestly don't really think of them that way. For Guts, it's the opposite problem. Again, it's all relative visually, and I believe mentally, in this case.
And I mostly just like the design overall, it's simple and effective and really that's the most important part whatever one's skill level. Looks good.
What problem, though? You're telling me those plants make him look unbelievable at a rather meager 6'4"? It's totally relative. He could be 10 feet tall in that shot for all one can tell, but people obviously don't think that way.