Fanart by nebezial AKA Stjepan Sejic

On the other hand, this might be a great way to depict Prince Adam using the "techno vest" technology until he obtains the sword of he...even though he's, ya know, holding it here and has Battle Cat with him already.

I love this guy's vision. I actually think the MOTU art looks better than the PoP art because that Catra, Shadow Weaver, and Mantenna all look off to me. Take away the leg armor and I think this is a pretty good live action He-Man design. The kiss is great--not sure but have we ever seem them kiss in official anything?

Those Collectors are pretty nice, but there ought to be just one of them surrounded by a fleet of rotons or something.

Originally Posted by Eamon

Plus it makes no sense. Why armour plate his entire legs and leave his abdominal exposed?!

You are now entering Eternia. Please check your common sense at the door.

Seriously though, I agree that the leg armor just doesn't befit He-Man at all. I'd also prefer to see some more bronze on him. Battlecat too! I guess he felt that an all-silver look would feel more heroic, but to me it is a bit boring.

wow nebezial said " just a quickie " about the he-man and teela's art ,a "quickie" he says?

maybe he-man looks like a knight but this is not far from the snake armor.

I think all characters are excellent concepts for a live-action movie exept he-man.i still did not see any art that captures as heman should looks for a movie.
I think this will be a real challenge for artists. i'd like to see the concept of eamon or gbagok about a he-man for a live action movie.

Originally Posted by Eamon

He-man is not knight!

Better than a techno-samurai from the hopefully aborted script.

Originally Posted by gbagok

On the other hand, this might be a great way to depict Prince Adam using the "techno vest" technology until he obtains the sword of he...

Are you really taking MOTUC bios seriously?

Well we know bronze works as I thought He-man looked pretty decent in the 87 film though I would've preferred the larger armour as per Mobius' original designs, especially the grieves.



He-man's snake Armour is still quite gladitorial and over all makes sence. But to have very knightly looking silver armour with the distinctively Arthurian look is just not He-man to me.

Whatever He-man will look like in the movie it still has to come from right place and develop a look from that place. To me it has come from the savage with a dash of medieval and sci-fi.

I believe he created those images to show that yes MOTU could be brought to the big screen and the characters could look realstic without being dumb looking.

Originally Posted by Mechthild

I love what he did with the Horde:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/830/sherawesome.jpg
(And yeah, She-Ra too, but I've always been a sucker for monsters and bad guys)

The first pic has a truly epic feel to it as well. For some reason it made me think "Horde invasion" even though I know they're supposed to be Skeletor's ships.

I wish they'd hire this guy to design the look of the MOTU movie...

I love this guy's art work and i agree he should be hired to design the new motu movie.

The only thing I don't like about the image is the copy and paste nature of the ships. And that's not because I don't like the way they look, but because of the volume of identical ships in close quarters tends to draw my eye away from the centre piece. BUT I understand why it's done being a "quickie", so certainly don't begrudge it.

Overall I love the images he's done. The guy's absolutely nailed He-man and the whole Master's aesthetic. His "teaser" poster is absolutely spot on.

Top marks.

An artist of this caliber would generally produce artwork like this to get some attention and be hopefully chosen to be a concept artist for the movie.

This bothers me. This is why I get so vocal.

Again, I love Stephan's art but I do not think this is the right style for He-Man at all.
If you want your movie He-Man to be King Arthur like or look like so many video game heroes out there, then fair enough.

To me MOTU is more special than that.
I personally want a MOTU movie that has the unique tone of the vintage toy line and in particular the box art, comics and first Filmation toons. Which come from a more sword & sorcery aesthetic. This is all too video game looking for my tastes.

Originally Posted by Eamon

An artist of this caliber would generally produce artwork like this to get some attention and be hopefully chosen to be a concept artist for the movie.

Fingers crossed! (Shame the smileys don't have hands...)

I love this MOTU art-work - some of the best - and this new one is just great.

This is the kind of visual that would sell a movie. And putting armour on He-Man makes him look less out of place among the armoured/cybernetic allies & enemies - what with him being the only almost-naked barbarian running around.

Great stuff.

Except for Trap Jaw, Moss Man and Stratos's bare chests. Not to mention that most MOTU have bare legs and at least part upper bodies exposed.

I don't think He-man looks out of place at all.

Why call him He-man if you are gonna cover him in armour??

Originally Posted by Eamon

Except for Trap Jaw, Moss Man and Stratos's bare chests. Not to mention that most MOTU have bare legs and at least part upper bodies exposed.

I don't think He-man looks out of place at all.

Why call him He-man if you are gonna cover him in armour??

That's a healthy Mark Taylor attitude right there, I love it!

Stjepan Sejic is a super talented guy, no doubt.
But I'm not a fan of his stylistic choices for MOTU and POP.
This isn't the look I'd want to see on the big screen.

For starters, there's lots of grays and blacks (at least in the backgrounds).
I'm not sure which I like less for an on-screen MOTU: lots of browns or lots of grays.
Kaare had lots of browns, Stjepan uses lots of grays. Both super talented guys, but neither tap into the vibe I'd hope for MOTU and POP.
That was one reason (of numerous) I never liked the '87 movie.

I also see lots of his Topcow art in these: the spiky shiny Witchblade look. I'm not much for that either.

I think this is a case of folks wow'ed by good art.
No doubt about it, this is great art!
But I think if you take art of this caliber and approach the look and feel of the characters differently, I'm fairly confident a number of people would instantly change their mind about these samples in relation to what should be on the big screen.

You can't really judge the look of a movie from pre-production artwork. Heck, this isn't even that. It's just fanart of how he'd -think- pre-production art for a possible MOTU movie (and PoP movie) would look.

If you go back to the 1987 movie, you can look at the concept art for that and see how much more stylized most of the characters and concepts looked. Heck, they originally envisioned the Sorceress played by a 12-year old girl to give her a fragile and unearthly look.

The transition from pre-pre artwork to production sketches to actual costume and set design to the lighting and shooting of a movie will change a lot of the look and feel. So it's really not possible to judge what a movie done with this guy as the concept artist would look like as a finished project.

As for the color palette, any movie made will have a muted color palette. It's just how things work. Look at the 1987 movie, all the black and grey in that. Bright colors and simple costumes just do not look good on the big screen. They work for an animated feature, but not for a live-action movie. For a good example you can read the making of the Star Trek movies, about the transition of Star Trek from the original TV series to the movie designs.

Heck, Star Wars, a movie series that many would associate with being bright and shiny, actually is dominated by muted colors visually. Reds, browns, greys, blacks... from the sets to the character costumes. That's why the flashy stuff stands out, because it contrasts better. Unlike, say... Flash Gordon.

(And before you shout at me, I love Flash Gordon, but I don't want a potential MOTU movie to go that route. )

The 1987 movie still came from the right place, ie sword and sorcery and the savage. Which I personally think is vital for that MOTU feeling.

To me, Sejic is coming from a more medeival, Arthurian, video game standpoint.

Originally Posted by Eamon

The 1987 movie still came from the right place, ie sword and sorcery and the savage. Which I personally think is vital for that MOTU feeling.

To me, Sejic is coming from a more medeival, Arthurian, video game standpoint.

I think if you look past the storyline, the 87 movie is exactly what it should be.

Originally Posted by TechTrek

I think if you look past the storyline, the 87 movie is exactly what it should be.

For me, there was just too many laser guns and those troops are far too close to Storm Troopers for my tastes but over all, I agree they got a lot right in terms of tone.
My personal notion is that If Gary Goodard was left to do what he wanted to do or the budget not pulled that movie would've been a true alternative to Star Wars and would've elevated the brand to new heights.
Tis painful to think about sometimes!

Originally Posted by Eamon

For me, there was just too many laser guns and those troops are far too close to Storm Troopers for my tastes but over all, I agree they got a lot right in terms of tone.
My personal notion is that If Gary Goodard was left to do what he wanted to do or the budget not pulled that movie would've been a true alternative to Star Wars and would've elevated the brand to new heights.
Tis painful to think about sometimes!

i agree about the storm troopers. and lazer guns. i could have left them out. cast, and costumes everything was perfect for me.

script, eh......
but I think that its heart was in the right place. I was completely fine with he-man's look in that.

Originally Posted by JVS3

I think this is a case of folks wow'ed by good art.

I would disagree with that. I've personally seen lots of great art, and never correlated

There's another fan art teaser poster knocking about by someone which is great art. Wowed me. But looks awful as a movie concept. Incredibly generic and unimaginative barbarian fare. No real elements that make it stand out as Masters of the Universe unless you're a fan who can recognise a few silhouettes and correlate that information backwards.

The artwork itself though is top notch and has that same wow factor. But the vibe was completely unimaginative.

Another guy did a whole bunch of characters, plus Grayskull and Snake Mountain. All were amazing, and the buildings would be brilliant as movie concepts. Some of the characters on the other hand weren't great for an on-screen translation, and despite the brilliance of the artwork, people weren't so vapid that they just went, "Ooh, pretty... that must be good for a movie then."

(Incidentally, that guy also did some Thundercats stuff which was amazing.)

To label people as just wowed by the art I personally think is incredibly condescending to those people.

Originally Posted by fantombe

To label people as just wowed by the art I personally think is incredibly condescending to those people.

I disagree, obviously.
I've been a professional comic book creator for over 10 years and I see this scenario time and time again both in the professional work and on fan forums.

Once again, Stjepan is a super talented guy.
I don't think anyone who is being patronizing would say that.

I'm talking about the stylistic choices of the character designs.
The art looks great! So it's only natural people respond in kind. But are the designs really what would be good for a movie MOTU and POP? I, for one, do not think so.

I guarantee you that if we had 20 of the current top comic artists do up different MOTU designs for what He-Man should be on-screen,
and we presented them the same time that these pieces were posted,
you wouldn't have the same type of excited outburst for these particular pieces of art.
I know people would still say Stjepan's designs look cool, but I don't think you'd have as many people saying "This is what MOTU/POP should look like on-screen."

Originally Posted by JVS3

I disagree, obviously.
I've been a professional comic book creator for over 10 years and I see this scenario time and time again both in the professional work and on fan forums.

Once again, Stjepan is a super talented guy.
I don't think anyone who is being patronizing would say that.

I'm talking about the stylistic choices of the character designs.
The art looks great! So it's only natural people respond in kind. But are the designs really what would be good for a movie MOTU and POP? I, for one, do not think so.

I guarantee you that if we had 20 of the current top comic artists do up different MOTU designs for what He-Man should be on-screen,
and we presented them the same time that these pieces were posted,
you wouldn't have the same type of excited outburst for these particular pieces of art.
I know people would still say Stjepan's designs look cool, but I don't think you'd have as many people saying "This is what MOTU/POP should look like on-screen."

I see what you are saying. I mean some people will still think this style would be great, but I don't think you'd see everyone unitedly saying it like we kinda have over the last few months. I love these pics but wouldn't want ALL of the elements found in them translated into the film. I really love Scorpia and Merman for sure, but other elements I find less appealing design wise. I do really love this latest picture though. I think the vibe actually might be a little TOO retro for the movie (at least for teela....he-man and his sword and the ships look especially great in this third pic) but as an art piece I think its fantastic.

I think I'm missing some warmth or richness color wise. It all seems a bit cold for how I would like to see the film. But then we will all have completely different ideas on that I'm sure so. lol. They are really fun pieces though and its exciting to see someones take on something we all so badly want to see finally happen.

Most definitely!
As art itself, it looks great!
But should it be the choice for a movie? I think people need to look harder.

This next part is where I know some people will feel I sound condescending, and I'm prepared to take a few punches from folks who don't truly understand what I'm trying to say.
But it's reality and I hope you all know I do not mean this with insult, and you'll look at my reputation through the years to know I'm trying to convey a point as respectably as I can.

When it comes to comics, or paintings, or film, a great many of us are back seat drivers. We think we know better.
But, just like with any job in this world, just because someone has an opinion doesn't make them qualified to make an educated decision, and it's why I'm saying that we all need to look past the initial "wow" factor.

I can't tell you how many times once I've told people I work in comics that they will say things to me like "you gotta hook me up with that job" lke it's that easy.
As though art requires no real talent and anyone off the street can do it.

I see people who aren't artists, or people who are inexperienced up-and-comers comment all the time about how great something is, when in fact, it's not that great.
And that has to be considered for the application of all art in regards to professional use. Not everyone is qualified to decide how art should be used.

It's like that when it comes to Mattel and business. We all have feedback on MOTUC and how things are handled, but few of us are actually qualified to really make the final decisions. All opinions are welcome, but we need to weigh all our options and vote wisely as a group. Then we put it into the hands of those in charge of business (with hopes they have the top business talent). IMO, the same holds true here.

You wouldn't walk into a lawyer's office with no legal training or degree and say "Put me on a case" or walk into a hospital without a doctorate and a license and say "I'm ready to operate."
The same holds true for art, no matter how much people don't want to admit it.
Just because something looks cool to a number of people at first glance doesn't mean that art is actually the best choice.
That decision should be made by someone who's trained in that area.

And as proof, do you see the top artistic talent on these forums all jumping into this thread, saying this art should be the choice for a new movie?
No, you don't.

Stjepan's art is fantastic. There's no doubt about it!
But should this be the look for a new movie? I don't think so.
Just like if you live in a city with a number of highly rated electricians and you shouldn't call the first one in the book, the same holds true here. Just because we have this awesome art from Stjepan doesn't mean folks should be ready to turn the movie over to this look and feel.
Ask around, see other art, etc.

Am I saying people can't say this art is great, or that they shouldn't endorse it as the look for a new movie? No. But I am saying know your depths, and not be so hasty with your endorsement. At the end of the day, maybe these are the best choice. But I think the initial outpouring is premature.

I feel like a jerk that I'm making these comments as a tangent from Stjepan's art, because he doesn't deserve that.
He didn't post this art trying to convince people to rally behind him on a movie.
And I apologize to Stjepan if he's reading.
And I will say that out of all the latest art I've seen, IMO this is by far some of the greatest for MOTU/POP. But in regards to a live-action movie, I feel the best designs are yet to come.

Great art no doubt.
Not the style of MotU I want to see in a movie though.

Ive always thought the MotU characters can make the jump to motion picture as is, especially with todays technology.

Originally Posted by Eamon

Because he's wearing a lot of silver armour.
His name is He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, he needs to look like his name.

Plus it makes no sense. Why armour plate his entire legs and leave his abdominal exposed?!

He is only wearing leg guards in the picture riding Battle Cat, which makes sense since legs are hard to defend when riding.