: Gary, man, thanks. Personally, I don't think I'm good enough to clean
: Mullins' brushes, but in order to save my ego from bruising I just say our
: work is so different it's hard to compare the two. I'm happy just to be
: mentioned in the same post. But I'd be happier with the studio in Hawaii
: and the steady flow of high-profile paying work.
Don't sell yourself short - if you keep making images like these, you'll get the high-profile work. You're right - your work is very different from Mullins work. Although your are both stiicklers for detail, his work tends to focus more on broad panoramas with lots of different scenes within a scene. Take his famous compiler scene, in which the viewer is drawn first to the compiler in the foreground, then to the surrounding machinery, then to the two bobs in the background, then to the dead bob, then to the compiler in the background in the act of an attack and finally perhaps to the lava pit in the foreground. This picture tells an unique story in a way that only Chris could.
Now let's take a look at the picts you posted here. First the marine standing in front of the comm terminal. Notice how the walls are rough and gritty as they almost certainly would be. The text above the terminal is worn and fading. The terminal itself is displaying a message that the marine is in the act of reading - not just a logon pict. And the marine himself is standing with a slight body tilt, signs of fatigue clearly showing. An ammo belt with ammo is visible, but his shoulder armour is missing on one side - perhaps a result of an earlier battle. This image is a close-up, but it tells no less a story.
Next the trooper. Notice how he is holding onto the doorway - he too is showing signs of fatigue. His glowing 3 eyes are visible through a translucent helmet that appears utterly unlike anything we would use, but that is probably perfectly transparent to the creatures compound eyes. One of his legs is forward as he appears to be staggering throug the doorway. Behind him on the floor are two fallen bobs and the walls are blood-streaked - evidence of his handiwork. Behind him just peering around the corner is a fighter. These are not just abstractions - you have made the Pfhor look real in a way the Chris never could. And look at the fan in the background and the subtle imperfections in the paint in the foreground. Adam, this scene looks real. Chris tells a story with his broad brushstrokes and use of sub-scenes. You also tell a story but, although it's more limited in scope, it's much greater in depth - you manage to capture the mood - the raw emotions - of a snapshot in time.
Let me put it this way - had you been drawing like this 10 years ago, it might well have been your art that graced the chapter screens of M2/oo rather than Mullins'. You're talented - very talented - but don't let it go to your head!
