Optimus Prime vs. Megatron by emmshin

While this is a well known and frequently covered duel between these two fictional characters, you've truly made this composition dramatic, desperate and energetic with your drawing. I can feel the kinetic impact of the action and each subject looks intense within the scene. Your proportions are excellent as is the depth of each character from foreground into the background. This is an amazing composition that achieves exactly what it should with style and detail.

One of the few problems I have with this expert piece is the focus the scene places upon Megatron's mouth and the fact that this robot has teeth. This isn't necessarily a problem with your work, perhaps more the anthropomorphic (technopomorphic?) nature of the Transformers themselves. Only other thing I can criticize is Prime's "abs" don't quite seem to work. But again, even with the modern mechanical designs allowing for much more naturalistic articulation, sometimes the traditional art still depicts some limbs as "bending solids" which has always bothered me about 1970s to 1980s robotic art and anime.

Lastly, I have to comment on the accomplished coloring. The colors and shading are what caught my eye about this piece from the beginning and I must say it is some of the best of this style I've ever seen. The subjects are colored perfectly for robots and feel metallic in the best possible way. The volumetric effect achieved with your colors are amazing and each part is interesting to look at on it's own. Then taken as a whole, the effect is striking. I hope to one day be able to color and shade line art as good as your work.

Vision: A classic battle. Megatron VS Optimus Prime is like Venom VS Spiderman. When both individuals enter the room, stuff is going to break until one remains standing and the other lays dead...Unless the losing one gets away. It appears that Optimus is winning at this point, and while that is a way of doing it, I personally think it would have been a lot more powerful if their was not so clear who was winning. Maybe if Megatron and Optimus were locked in an even struggle or their weapons were clashing. However, I can see this as a metaphor that "goodness and justice will always triumph over evil and tyranny." So for what is here, the vision is powerful and clear while still open to interpretation.

Originality: Well...To be honest, the concept is not very original. It's Transformers fan art and it depicts the eternal struggle of Optimus Prime and Megatron, so as for any original ideas, there is not much going for it. Original techniques; now that's a little different.

Technique: This is where the picture shines. The attention to detail is amazing. Individual lines show the depth, colors, shading, and depth of every aspect. One aspect I find interesting is how Megatron's lip almost seems to be bending in an organic fashion, bending instead of breaking like typical metal while his face is being squeezed by Optimus Prime. And the depth of the picture is amazing. The robots look big and feel big, especially with how they are fighting. Optimus looks like he just shoved Megatron's face down to throw off his aim with the cannon on Megatron's arm. I interpret this because of how I see purple smoke coming from the barrel of Megatron's gun. The colors are both vibrant and gritty at the same time. The brick red given to Optimus's armor was a neat touch to give the robots a sense of realism, especially in times of war. Robots like Optimus, who are in constant battle, would not have polished red armor. It would be dirty or dull from aging and constant fighting. This would be G1 style with a little hint of Prime updating. They look just like they do in the G1 show, but have that realistic approach to their armor that Transformers Prime gave them. It's a neat blend. The shadowing effects...fantastic. I'd like to point out Megatron again for this example. I look at the energon mace he is wielding and I am certain that the bits of his armor that are lit up are from that. His white armor has slight tints of yellow where the light hits him, and it is most intense in both brightness and yellow shading on the mace arm, dulling as it gets further away. Excellent attention to detail on that. Also, the textures. I look at these and ask, "Do they look like they're made of metal?" The answer is a well-deserved "yes!" But it is not shiny metal, which also fits in with the constant fighting. It looks old and maybe a little rusted or worn down. But that just adds more to the characters, showing just how long they've been in conflict. Also, the joints in Optimus's fingers, stomach grill, Megatron's elbows, and Optimus's shoulders give them that blocky, metallic appearance that a robot might have. The technique and style used here was overall spectacular.

Impact: And this is where my other thoughts come in. As a Transformers fan, this picture may have lacked in the originality department in terms of concept, but the themes portrayed (that I interpret) and drawing style definitely make this a fine piece of fan art for Transformers. Again, Megatron and Optimus Prime is just one of those fights that will never end as long as one or the other exists in the universe. It's a sad realization that in order for ANY form of peace to be attained, whether it be Autobot Liberty or Decepticon Supremacy, one of these two will have to die and the survivor would serve as a rallying point to forge a future for the Cybertronian race. There is just no coexisting for Megatron and Optimus Prime. So the idea has been done again and again, but it is how it gets portrayed that either hooks me or loses me. And here, the image is a powerful representation of that struggle with the idea that good will triumph in the end. That's just how I like to see it anyway.