XM Studios Spider-Man 1/4 Statue

[Ryanbusts]

Originally Posted by Divo

I've asked the same question, and nobody to date has answered with true examples, or with logical insights. I feel it is truly an empty argument, which has caught on like some contagious disease,............and it's spreading. And some actually believe that these vague unfounded claims pass as true artistic critiques, and blindly follow the blind. A pitiful joke. Wake up, and try to appreciate the complex character and environmental designs XM is trying to achieve, as without any doubt, are pushing this art form to truly new heights.

People just appreciate different things. I threw up in my mouth a little after reading your post. But you did open my eyes as to see what people appreciate from pieces I just don't understand.
There are no unfounded claims. Every critique that is said is an opinion and just that. I was wrong to criticize in a community like this obviously. My bad. I had no idea there was a cork sniffing attitude in statue collecting.

[Spidey976]

Originally Posted by Divo

I've asked the same question, and nobody to date has answered with true examples, or with logical insights. I feel it is truly an empty argument, which has caught on like some contagious disease,............and it's spreading. And some actually believe that these vague unfounded claims pass as true artistic critiques, and blindly follow the blind. A pitiful joke. Wake up, and try to appreciate the complex character and environmental designs XM is trying to achieve, as without any doubt, are pushing this art form to truly new heights.

You know what I will take a shot at it, but these are critiques based on how I think the bases take away from the main character, which thes statues are meant to highlight. These artistic and personal opinion.

Punisher: so much of the talk about his one is about the bike... The bike has become the focus... Metal frame, metal chain, and while Punosher rides a bike it isn't part of the character like it is with GR. A shot of Castle in a battle zone with his guns out and shells on the floor would have spoken far more to the character IMHO

Medusa: while I love LockJaw he isn't immediately associated with Medusa, so why could t she have been I. A dynamic hair flowing pose like BB. Instead she is on a giant dog throne, and while he is a character he is drawing some of the attention away from her.

Spider-Man and MJ Dio: the forced perspective on that on is driving me batty, and others too I might add. As of yet it isn't working for me and is actually messing the whole piece up for me at this point. A wall showing an open window would have been boarding, but if their appartment was shown even just a little on the other side that would have been cool.

Namor: damn that is a big Squid, and it is impressive, but it takes away a bit from Namor himself and that is an issue for me.

Now are any of these pieces ruined by this? Nope, but like I said the bases do draw your attention.

Now I will counter that with the fact that those are the only ones I could really think of, and for the most part the bases on XM piece compliment the rest of the statue so well it isn't funny. Phoenix and Magneto are a perfect example of this.

P.s. I forgot to mention Sandman now that base is epic

[Lockdown]

Originally Posted by Spidey976

You know what I will take a shot at it, but these are critiques based on how I think the bases take away from the main character, which thes statues are meant to highlight. These artistic and personal opinion.

Punisher: so much of the talk about his one is about the bike... The bike has become the focus... Metal frame, metal chain, and while Punosher rides a bike it isn't part of the character like it is with GR. A shot of Castle in a battle zone with his guns out and shells on the floor would have spoken far more to the character IMHO

Medusa: while I love LockJaw he isn't immediately associated with Medusa, so why could t she have been I. A dynamic hair flowing pose like BB. Instead she is on a giant dog throne, and while he is a character he is drawing some of the attention away from her.

Spider-Man and MJ Dio: the forced perspective on that on is driving me batty, and others too I might add. As of yet it isn't working for me and is actually messing the whole piece up for me at this point. A wall showing an open window would have been boarding, but if their appartment was shown even just a little on the other side that would have been cool.

Namor: damn that is a big Squid, and it is impressive, but it takes away a bit from Namor himself and that is an issue for me.

Now are any of these pieces ruined by this? Nope, but like I said the bases do draw your attention.

Now I will counter that with the fact that those are the only ones I could really think of, and for the most part the bases on XM piece compliment the rest of the statue so well it isn't funny. Phoenix and Magneto are a perfect example of this.

Hey, that's is nice sculpt you did for the Hulk transformation project. From what I saw, you're contradicting what you said here. The base of your project is extremely large and much bigger than any XM statues. Some people might find that it overwhelms and distracts the character, but I like it and see what you are doing with the over all composition.

Art is subjective and it's in the eyes of the beholder. These are 3D sculptures, not 2D drawings that can be shown in one angle, unfortunately, everyone including myself, like to put them in Ikea shelves that will show them in one specific angle which they are t not meant to be.

I think you should move on and stop arguing about this, every company has their own art direction and will not fit everyone's idea of how an art piece should be. Although, we can always give constructive criticisms.

[Spidey976]

Originally Posted by Lockdown

Hey, that's is nice sculpt you did for the Hulk transformation project. From what I saw, you're contradicting what you said here. The base of your project is extremely large and much bigger than any XM statues. Some people might find that it overwhelms and distracts the character, but I like it and see what you are doing with the over all composition.

Art is subjective and it's in the eyes of the beholder. These are 3D sculptures, not 2D drawings that can be shown in one angle, unfortunately, everyone including myself, like to put them in Ikea shelves that will show them in one specific angle which they are t not meant to be.

I think you should move on and stop arguing about this, every company has their own art direction and will not fit everyone's idea of how an art piece should be. Although, we can always give constructive criticisms.

An absolutely valid piece of C&C and it is something I am working on as we speak. Though to be fare it is only my second base, and it has 3.5 figures and a crap tone of destruction ...lol. I am still thinking about idea on how to show the same story as a whole and if I am lucky enough to move in I am sure I will get a load of helpful suggestions. In the end I am actually not trying to argue so much as have a discussion. I enjoy those. As for this piece I have already passed in some thoughts straight to XM on little things I think could help. If they take those into consideration that is cool, if they don't that is cool too. Artist should always take constructive criticism and do with it what helps them reach a better version of their artistic vision, or in some cases what the client envisioned, and if that means taking none of it that is fine too. In the end I will not be insulted if they don't take any of what I have suggested into account because maybe it doesn't jell with what THEY as artists need to do.

P.s. Thanks for the positive comments about my sculpt I really do appreciate it. It has been a massive learning experience for me and a LOAD of fun

[loricstone]

Originally Posted by Ryanbusts

You may criticize XM and show love for other companies but it doesn't really show on the forum.
Base issues imo, Daredevil, Sandman on soft serve ice cream, SpiderMan and Gwen, Rhino, Juggs to name a few. It does seem however that the newer statues in production backed off the dramatic playset style bases and in return also have less "dynamic" poses. Example quicksilver.
SS Spidey, wolverine, Croc, and Deadpool are just as "dynamic" as any XM piece. I hope they both rub off on each other. I think they already have in some ways and we are seeing it with the newer previews.
SS by making more characters for the bigger comic fan and changing up the typical museum pose and giving better EX swaps.
XM by sculpting better portraits and choosing better color palettes and having less busy bases(in some cases, sometimes it works well) however these are just my opinions of what both companies can improve on.
I don't think I am ignorant, if you do criticize XM on this forum it is minimal.
I will be getting The Vulture and Weapon X. I think they did a great job on Vulture and the weapon X is gonna be sweet too. I am in no way a hater of any company, I am just comfortable with calling a spade a spade.

I would say you just haven't paid that much attention to my posts in which I do critique. But honestly, you aren't too far off as I just don't have problems with the vast majority of XM works. But I have sounded off rather harshly on one statue in particular, as I just thought the concept was absolutely boring and does not match the exceptional pose of the character that has already been released in DD. Ms. Marvel while a good statue, was also very disappointing to me from a lack of expression on the portraits, and it gives a very lifeless feel. Very dynamic, and decent pose, but highly boring facial portraits.

As far as bases go, I am dumbfounded with anyone thinking it is too much on the DD statue. There is absolutely no obstruction of DD and he can be viewed from every angle except from the back. I am clueless to a problem you may have on that one. Gwen base is totally different and being reworked from that building base you saw a couple months ago. You may still not like it, but it is far better than the building base XM originally had before changing it...I think you will even agree to that when you see it.

As for the dynamism of SS statues you mentioned, I agree with all of them except Croc. That IMO is not dynamic...although it isn't necessarily museum either. I don't know how I feel about Croc. Some times I like him, other times I am just not feeling it. NOW BANE!!! WOOBOY!!!! THAT LOOKS WICKED!!!! Huntress looked phenomenal. Canary is another Rogue PF what the F#*K is she doing pose IMO. Not as bad as Rogue, but not too far off. I don't know wtf SS was doing with that pose. Makes no sense at all. I don't care what some try to explain for that, makes no sense and its severely reaching IMO.

[loricstone]

Originally Posted by Spidey976

You know what I will take a shot at it, but these are critiques based on how I think the bases take away from the main character, which thes statues are meant to highlight. These artistic and personal opinion.

Punisher: so much of the talk about his one is about the bike... The bike has become the focus... Metal frame, metal chain, and while Punosher rides a bike it isn't part of the character like it is with GR. A shot of Castle in a battle zone with his guns out and shells on the floor would have spoken far more to the character IMHO

Medusa: while I love LockJaw he isn't immediately associated with Medusa, so why could t she have been I. A dynamic hair flowing pose like BB. Instead she is on a giant dog throne, and while he is a character he is drawing some of the attention away from her.

Spider-Man and MJ Dio: the forced perspective on that on is driving me batty, and others too I might add. As of yet it isn't working for me and is actually messing the whole piece up for me at this point. A wall showing an open window would have been boarding, but if their appartment was shown even just a little on the other side that would have been cool.

Namor: damn that is a big Squid, and it is impressive, but it takes away a bit from Namor himself and that is an issue for me.

Now are any of these pieces ruined by this? Nope, but like I said the bases do draw your attention.

Now I will counter that with the fact that those are the only ones I could really think of, and for the most part the bases on XM piece compliment the rest of the statue so well it isn't funny. Phoenix and Magneto are a perfect example of this.

P.s. I forgot to mention Sandman now that base is epic

Punisher: Its all about doing something different from the standard garden variety fare of Punisher statues of which there are many. Not only is the actual Punisher figure done phenomenally in its own right, but the bike (of which he has been shown riding in the comics) has a life of it's own with exceptional extra details. But its the unique concept and thinking outside the box that truly make this IMO the greatest Punisher I have ever seen in any medium, any size, any company. I say that with the utmost confidence. However, I have a concept that I feel would smoke any Punisher. If there was a contest for this one, I would have won by a mile...that's how confident I am with my envisionment of Frank....and it would definitely fit more in line with Frank firing it up...just in a unique manner.

Medusa: Lockjaw is not a base. He is a separate character. It sounds like you think Medusa needs Lockjaw to sit on. Maybe you know that...but the way you worded it makes it seem like you don't know that. Medusa looks solid with or without Lockjaw btw.

Spidey and Gwen: Until the whole statue is shown completed and painted up at STGCC, I have no comments really on this, other than from what I have seen, it looks pretty darn cool.

Namor: Not gonna lie, that Octopus is pretty damn huge, but to me it serves the purpose of creating a scene and it also serves to represent his power of being able to communicate with sea life. It is a big base though...not gonna lie, and the Octopus looks pretty spectacular in its own right. But the fact that Subby is standing on top of it helps bring him out a little more. There is no obstruction of his character, and that I like greatly.

For characters like Rhino and Juggy, you are going to naturally get some kind of rubble around them to accentuate or represent their powers. Juggs especially! That's what he does, walk through crap. Rhino charges through crap.

Like Lockdown said, sure you can have a Rhino like SS on a plain base more or less, but, some like myself appreciate bases that tell a scene or have some life to them. Some don't and that is fine too.
It's actually a pretty interesting topic when its brought up or discussed.

Now I will tell you a base that I think one can make an argument that it might be too much and that is Red Skull. For the record, I love the base, but I can definitely see how it may be too much for others.

[Divo]

Originally Posted by Spidey976

You know what I will take a shot at it, but these are critiques based on how I think the bases take away from the main character, which thes statues are meant to highlight. These artistic and personal opinion.

Punisher: so much of the talk about his one is about the bike... The bike has become the focus... Metal frame, metal chain, and while Punosher rides a bike it isn't part of the character like it is with GR. A shot of Castle in a battle zone with his guns out and shells on the floor would have spoken far more to the character IMHO

Medusa: while I love LockJaw he isn't immediately associated with Medusa, so why could t she have been I. A dynamic hair flowing pose like BB. Instead she is on a giant dog throne, and while he is a character he is drawing some of the attention away from her.

Spider-Man and MJ Dio: the forced perspective on that on is driving me batty, and others too I might add. As of yet it isn't working for me and is actually messing the whole piece up for me at this point. A wall showing an open window would have been boarding, but if their appartment was shown even just a little on the other side that would have been cool.

Namor: damn that is a big Squid, and it is impressive, but it takes away a bit from Namor himself and that is an issue for me.

Now are any of these pieces ruined by this? Nope, but like I said the bases do draw your attention.

Now I will counter that with the fact that those are the only ones I could really think of, and for the most part the bases on XM piece compliment the rest of the statue so well it isn't funny. Phoenix and Magneto are a perfect example of this.

P.s. I forgot to mention Sandman now that base is epic

Again, I consider these silly, naive arguments. Sorry. Bashing motorbike for having realistic elements(?), Lockjaw out of place depicted with Medusa(?), or Namor being deminished by Octopus(?) are silly at best, and delusional at worst. It's akin to trashing old master wall sized paintings depicting historical war scenes. Would you consider them too busy and distracting because of too much horse(s), too many ravaged bodies, too many cannons, or smoke, or death, taking attention away from the featured General? Again, just incredibly naive, and rather short sighted.

Learn to critique the work for what it is, and not for what it is not.

[Spidey976]

Originally Posted by loricstone

Punisher: Its all about doing something different from the standard garden variety fare of Punisher statues of which there are many. Not only is the actual Punisher figure done phenomenally in its own right, but the bike (of which he has been shown riding in the comics) has a life of it's own with exceptional extra details. But its the unique concept and thinking outside the box that truly make this IMO the greatest Punisher I have ever seen in any medium, any size, any company. I say that with the utmost confidence. However, I have a concept that I feel would smoke any Punisher. If there was a contest for this one, I would have won by a mile...that's how confident I am with my envisionment of Frank....and it would definitely fit more in line with Frank firing it up...just in a unique manner.

Medusa: Lockjaw is not a base. He is a separate character. It sounds like you think Medusa needs Lockjaw to sit on. Maybe you know that...but the way you worded it makes it seem like you don't know that. Medusa looks solid with or without Lockjaw btw.

Spidey and Gwen: Until the whole statue is shown completed and painted up at STGCC, I have no comments really on this, other than from what I have seen, it looks pretty darn cool.

Namor: Not gonna lie, that Octopus is pretty damn huge, but to me it serves the purpose of creating a scene and it also serves to represent his power of being able to communicate with sea life. It is a big base though...not gonna lie, and the Octopus looks pretty spectacular in its own right. But the fact that Subby is standing on top of it helps bring him out a little more. There is no obstruction of his character, and that I like greatly.

For characters like Rhino and Juggy, you are going to naturally get some kind of rubble around them to accentuate or represent their powers. Juggs especially! That's what he does, walk through crap. Rhino charges through crap.

Like Lockdown said, sure you can have a Rhino like SS on a plain base more or less, but, some like myself appreciate bases that tell a scene or have some life to them. Some don't and that is fine too.
It's actually a pretty interesting topic when its brought up or discussed.

Now I will tell you a base that I think one can make an argument that it might be too much and that is Red Skull. For the record, I love the base, but I can definitely see how it may be too much for others.

All,good points but I see it from a different point of view, and that is fine because as we both know they are just opinions. As for you Punisher idea I would love to hear it someday.

The thing is I picked 4 statues where the bases "might" take away from the character, but it took me awhile to think of them trust me. In the end I am all in for doing something cool and different with a base; especially if it speaks to the character. Let's face it, like Lockdown said my Hulk base is massively huge, but that was in an effort to really tell a story. It might blow up in my fac, but in the end no one else other then XM would take a shot at a piece like that so I took a big swing.

Originally Posted by Divo

Again, I consider these silly, naive arguments. Sorry. Bashing motorbike for having realistic elements(?), Lockjaw out of place depicted with Medusa(?), or Namor being deminished by Octopus(?) are silly at best, and delusional at worst. It's akin to trashing old master wall sized paintings depicting historical war scenes. Would you consider them too busy and distracting because of too much horse(s), too many ravaged bodies, too many cannons, or smoke, or death, taking attention away from the featured General? Again, just incredibly naive, and rather short sighted.

Learn to critique the work for what it is, and not for what it is not.

Are you sure your name shouldn't be Diva not Divo. Honestly, cut back the condescending asshatery, and read your first sentence "I consider these" that means you are talking about your opinion. Not a fact. I stated a thought out critique on 4 bases that might be too busy, but because you are a rabid fanboy you lose your ---- and think that by saying my opinions are silly or delusional you make yours stronger. Sorry puddin that just doesn't work. Guys like you who can't deal with opinions that are different then yours in a way that doesn't devolve to name calling or insults are the worst part of this hobby because you see you aren't right, you aren't wrong ... You simply have an opinion, and it is a shame that you can't voice it at a level higher than a 3rd grader when they call someone a stupid poopy head. Though I will admit you have a slightly better vocabulary than my 3rd grader.

[SideShowJoe]

Anyone have popcorn my bucket is fresh out!!!

[Spidey976]

Originally Posted by SideShowJoe

Anyone have popcorn my bucket is fresh out!!!

Sorry Sarah I am to silly or delusional for popcorn... I only up get soft things to chew on.