ECCE VILLOSO by Lionus (2004)

ECCE VILLOSO (Lat. Behold the Furry)

By now you know of my fondness for historical subjects and my style of presenting them to you through furry eyes. This particular piece was inspired by Mel Gibson's recent motion picture "The Passion of the Christ" though I think my version is somewhat tamer by comparison. :)
The style I adopted for this pic is similar to that of the Italian artists of the 13th and 14th Centuries. In painting religious paintings they often times dressed their characters in what was for them contemporary clothing to make the works' message relevent to their 13th and 14th Century viewers.

Pencil to PhotoShop. This is the longest artwork I have ever done both in time needed to complete it (approximately three months) and for the number of characters I placed in it. It is also the first completely "line-less" piece I have attempted and the first piece where I worked on the texturing of fur and metal.

Updated 15SEP04 to correct over-brightness.