Alex Ross Spidey costume design

[artmonkey]

Has anyone checked out Alex Ross' costume design from his website?

AlexRossArt.com (http://www.alexrossart.com/ross.htm)

I don't know if Alex was commission to do some designs or if he just did them for fun, but I sort of wish they went with his designs. It stays fairly true to the original Spidey costume but looks like it would translate much better to film than the traditional Spidey costume.

What do you folks think?

My biggest concern about using the traditional Spidey costume is that it will look like the 70s TV specials too much.
Of course, I'm sure the SFX be better than some stuntman in red and blue tights loosly clinging on to dear life to a single cable while he "slips" up a brick wall.

[SSJ2And16]

Alex Ross is the man, I like his concept designs but I think the one they have now looks pretty good and is very true to the comic. Who knows with the stuff they can do with computers now I think everything will work out just fine.

[kaiken]

alex is da man the guy can draw exp with watercolors and air brush did you guys check out his wolverine

[lbaforever]

i think any real life spidy costumes look *** because only comics and cartoons can pull off tights. x-men realized that so why cant these guys. ill still see this movie first day but it will be kinda dumb how hes dressed.

[kaiken]

noooo i think spidey looks tiiight dont hate

[fancydan58]

Funny, I never looked at the Spidey costume quite that way........ either in the comic, or in person on the movie set.

Spose' it takes one to know one.

[roundeye]

OoOoo000oHH, and a ViSCioUs right hook from FANCYDAN!

[kaiken]

and he is out 1... 2... 3...

[aspen]

The spider-man costume they went with is the absolute best. It laid alot of peoples worries to rest. Alex Ross's designs were ****py amalgamations of previous costume re-design from the comics. Everything from the Spider-Armor to Dan Jurgen's Ben Reilly costume.

Alex Ross is a hack who can't think of anything original and has absolutley NO design talent. He is a very good painter but the composition in his work leaves ALOT to be desired. Did anyone see that so called "Earth X" Wolverine bust he "designed"? He pulled absolutely everything from that design from the "Days of Futures Past" art work. Wolverine was in Earth X for all of two panels and he looked NOTHING like that. He was a fat liver spotted fraky haired loser. Ross treated Wolverine just like he treats everything modern that he doesn't care for. He just sweeps them aside with no regard for other peoples hard work on the characters.

Thats just how it is. I love the costume they have now. It is classic. Ross is a poser riding his retro style bandwagon with **** near every other fanboy running behind.

[amytoilet]

i saw those sketches a while ago. what happened was alex ross was asked by sony if he would assist in the design of the spiderman costume. he did a spiderman logo, a lot of spiderman sketches and one green goblin sketch that i got mixed feelings about [ his costume was torn up and sowed like catwoman's costume in batman returns and his glider had handle bars ].

anyway, apparently sony didnt like his ideas so they sent him back his sketches and he put them on his site to sell them.

i dont think alex ross is overrated, the man's talent is through the roof completely breaking the barrier of what a comic book could be. kingdom come, uncle sam, the marvels series. the man can do so much with one paint stroke.

[Mangogna]

I think Alex Ross is one of the greatest artists in comics today. Even a cursory glance at his work illustraes how much work went into each shade, each muscle, each facial expression. Looking at his work is like looking at a masterpiece. He makes a two-dimensional drawing look like a sculpture. To call his work overrated is insulting and unintelligent. What Ross does with just a pencil stroke is more than what most of today's comic book artists do with pencil, ink, color, and computer graphics.

Sony would have done well to use Spider-Man's classic costume design (particularly the eyes). It would have given Spider-Man the classic look that this kind of movie needs, striking a balance between the old comic book designs (pre-MacFarland) and the newest of movie-making technologies. I've been reading Spider-Man for over twenty years and I think the Romita versions (both senior and junior) were the very best of Spider-Man costume design. That is the design that Ross picks up on in his treatment for Sony, and I think the movie would have been much better by using it.

[aspen]

I think that the costume designs that he had were far from classic. To me, it was hacked up and alien. I am very pleased with the way the costume is now, it can't get any more classic.

Personnaly I would not call Ross a "Master" by any means. There are way too many people out in the field today that go by unnapreciated because they were not lucky enough to become main stream like Ross was. To discount that is "insulting and unintelligent". Many people, past and present, do more with a simple ink line than Alex Ross can do by copying his friends facial expressions.

One of my all time favorite titles was "Marvels" his art worked for it, it made sense to use his style. Anything that he's done recently seems only to serve his own interests. But I have yet to see him grow as an artist by any means and that what makes an artist a "master".

The Spider-Man costume has been time tested. Many people have taken their hand at redesigning it in the books and each time fan response has always been "stick with the classic" thats what they did, and thats what makes it work. Without Alex Ross.

[Mangogna]

A few notes.

First. I don't doubt that there are many underrated artists in the field, and that's unfortunate, but I think there are ways to appreciate underrated artists without under appreciating others. In any event, I'd be interested in seeing aspen's list of under appreciated artists, past and present, who he feels are better than Alex Ross. I'm not saying that there aren't any, but I'd be interested in knowing the artists he feels can "do more with a simple ink line than Alex Ross can do by copying his friends facial expressions." By the way, what's wrong with copying from reality? Comic book artists do that all the time. To be able to copy with the amount of detail that Ross does is a singular talent, particularly in the comic book field.

Second, the Spider-Man costume as seen in the movie trailer, while having many elements of the classic look, is not what I consider classic in the most significant elements: the costume's webbing and the eyes. I'm not outraged by it, but it is irritating that the treatment relied more on contemporary designs than what I term as "the classic look." I consider the old designs of John Romita and Ross Andru to be "the classic look." I think John Romita Jr. and Alex Ross pick up on that "classic look" and, as someone who's been reading new and back issues of Spider-Man for over twenty years, I think it would have been nice to see that look represented in the film. I'm not sure that aspen and I are referring to the same costume designs when he refers t o them as "hacked up and alien." What does that mean?

Lastly, I don't know anything about Alex Ross personally, so I don't know what interests he's trying to serve in his recent works. I do agree that "Marvels" was magnificent. Also, as someone who's never really excelled in the comic book art field, I don't know how much more an artist can grow when he can already make a pencil drawing look like a black and white photograph. I'd love to be able to trace that well! All I know is that Alex Ross is the most refreshing thing to come into the comic book field since John Buscema. trace]

[Mangogna]

I didn't think aspen and I were thinking about the same costume designs! When I first went into the AlexRossArt.com web site, I noticed the penciled Spider-Man head shots that were in the section labeled "original art for sale" gallery. I thought those were portions of his movie treatment! Those head shots and the Spider-Man designs portrayed by Ross in Marvels are what I consider classic. I just noticed the section of the web site that is actually labeled "Spider-Man movie designs" under "art gallery"! If those were the designs aspen was referring to, I wholeheartedly agree! They do look alien, and the designs Sony used are much more "classic" --relatively speaking.

Despite those movie designs (the rationale for which is beyond me!), Alex Ross is still a master of style and design. His illustrations are lifelike, his points of view are dynamic, and his pictorial storytelling is engaging! He's first-rate!

[aspen]

OKay, I'll give you that. I have several Alex Ross comics myself and it is defnitely eye catching and dynamic. I just don't think him to be the God that everyone has made him out to be. Especially when it comes to design sense and compostions. I mean, my favorite work he's done were actually pencils of other peoples' he's worked on top of....

[aspen]

I go to art school, I see work better than Alex Ross' on a regular basis. He is not the revolutionary people make him out to be and I consider his work quite bland. There is a difference between copying from reality and using relaity as a reference. Alex Ross does the former which limits him.

People I feel that convey more with an Ink line than Ross can with a brush are as follows: Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo, Bill Sienkiewics, Eddie Cambell, Mike Mignola and Barry Windsor Smith. Just off the top of my head. these are people that have a REAL sense for detail, storytelling, mood, shadow, composition and design. And that is what I look for in a comic, not pretty pictures.

In case you were wondering.

[dwams]

First of all Alex Ross did NOT design that costume you hate so much it was David Williams,a friend of his from WarnerBros. So if you are going to spill out your bile spit it in the right direction.Secondly sence you have not steped up to the plate and offerd up (with all your great wisdom) your contribution to the film.I think you should keep non constructive criticism to your self.I notice when people like you put others and there work down you are just calling attention to yourself and making your self the authority thus making yourself "GOD".YOU NEED TO CHECK YOURSELF.
You dont now the first thing about Alex Ross and or the comicbook indistry. Don't you know better than to talk about things you do not know about?Once again"YOU NEED TO CHECK YOURSELF."
Answer me one question.Name one other contemperary that has matched Alex's achievements.

[LitBit]

Aspen goes to art school! WOW! He must know a LOT!

Get over it dude.

[dwams]

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=6812

Check the facts.

[dwams]

http://spiderman.it-pc.de/

[SunTzu]

no, the bottom line is as ng as it has the webbing the right way and the colors the right way, it'll probably look fine. however, my biggest concern is the eyes. They're far too small. i felt the best animation of his eyes was when they were drawn to take up the largest amount of space possible. from straight on, there should not be all that much mask compared to now. i hated the stupid yin yang type shape. while we're on the topic, i hated the webbing under his arms. that was just pointless.

[This message was edited by Guide_Manilla on 03.15.02 at 11:17.]

[aspen]

That was constructive. You sure put me in my place. Farbeit from anyone to have an opinion contrary to the norm. I know that Ross didn't personally design them but he's touting them like he is. I have nothing but faith in Spider-Man and the movie but I will not be one of the people that thinks Alox Ross is some sort of Illustrative god. He's NOT THAT GREAT. Get a mind, think for yourself, come to your own conclusions, I did just that and thats what it is, MY OPINION. Nothing more. I did not claim to be an expert but at least I can see past the superficial unlike alot of fans and people in the industry.

[aspen]

Don't pay anny attention to me. For some reason, I'm not posting in the right area...

[Mangogna]

Is anyone out there still interested in talking about the Spider-Man movie costume design? I don't know if this is going to change once I see the movie, but the more I see the trailer or the movie posters, the more those Spider-Man eyes aggravate me. The reflective lenses don't bother me, but those thin black outlines bug me (pun intended). If they looked more like the Alex Ross Spider-Man bust, I think it would look alot better. +

[Guide_Manilla]

Hello everyone:)

I just would like to remind everyone that it is OK to express our opinions and debate ideas, as long as we don't attack others personally.

Guide_Manilla
Terms Of Service (http://www.spe.sony.com/spe/terms_index.html)

[touji]

Don't take this the wrong way, because after all I agree with some of what you say. Alex Ross is sometime overrated, especially when it comes to design. But I just want to rectify something about the Eart X Wolverine bust. It's actually a Universe X bust and the reason why he looks like Days of Future Past Wolverine is because he IS Days of Future Past Wolverine plocked from his own time line along with Spider-Girl, Iron Man 2020, Deathlock and Vance Astro... I think. You are right the actual Wolverine of Earth X looks nothing like that. Oh and to the rest, for once we get a PERFECT REPLICA OF THE COMIC BOOK COSTUME VERSION THAT DON'T LOOK CHEAP and somehow pepeole are still complaining. "The X-men are in leather it sucks" "The Green Goblin dosen't look like in the comic, it sucks" "Spidey wears spandex it sucks" You know stop complaining and enjoy the movie. These pepeole are professionals. Let them do their work. It's still better that STEEL or Batman & Robin.

[bigdodge1977]

good point. I stand corrected. Rock on, all!