[astralvesl]

http://metalbandart.com/?p=2835
Some of them are a bit of a stretch but taken together it's hard to deny there's something going on. Some of the links in the comments are even more damning.

[Saevus]

All artist do this to some degree. I reference other art from time to time, although I try to either make it really subtle (usually just referencing color or certain techniques) or make it really obvious and sort of a tribute. It's best to reference more from photographs and life though.

It's pretty overboard in this case though.
_________________
http://sethbennettillustration.blogspot.com/ - Artwork and graphic design

[navght]

Nothing wrong with this, just like borrowing samples. Some good work, alot of shit though..

[astralvesl]

[ADB]

This really isn't as bad it's being made to look, this happens all the time in all art forms and is usually accepted as a form of homage to the original artist (which it mostly seems to be here). The only one that might be a bit on the dodge is the one with the legs and guts hanging out, as that's pretty much a direct mirror image.

But stuff where he's got a very similar skeleton in a completely different pose is obviously a bit of a nod to the original, and stuff like the walls of skeletons is hardly original in any context since the middle ages.

Remember that there are artists (the most famous probably being Andy Warhol) that directly copied images and then twisted them to make their own statement.
_________________
Ignivomous merch: abaddon_963[at]hotmail.com
Whitehorse Bandcamp
Voidchrist Bandcamp

[astralvesl]

Did you really look at the images? The first one w/ the wolves from Bell and Vallejo? The wolves are clearly superimposed into the Hammerlord art. Not a nod, an actual copying a pasting. Look at the shadows on some of the originals, he directly lifts images and washes them into artwork using photo editing software. At first I thought it was a little blown out of proportion I admit, but after looking at the links in the comments and looking closer at all of the ones posted...this is no homage, no tribute, this is exactly what art plagiarism looks like.

[Speerhead]

I doubt there's an element of 'paying homage' or 'making a statement' here. All the same, it's a pretty interesting way of working...making composites of all those bits and pieces. Even if he isn't (re) painting the original material, it takes some skill to make the end thing look like a coherent composition in its own right.

That Phantasm one is taking the piss a bit though

[GenericBlackMetalhead]

Lol
_________________

[VnholyCvntz]

I really don't see how anyone can legitimately defend this.
_________________

[SoundsOfDecay]

The Beksinski one is fucking ridiculous, and not even the most blatant

[dalecooper]

It's indefensible, and he should refund the bands he charged for this hack work. A little inspiration or a blatant homage is one thing; compositing other people's work with just a few slapped-on filters is theft, of both the original artists and the people who paid you for an original design.

It'd be a bit different if he billed himself as a collage artist, though he would have to pay the license holders for a lot of these designs and I'm quite sure that hasn't been going on.
_________________

[Demoniarch]

ballsy as all hell

[GenericBlackMetalhead]

Apparently he deleted his Facebook page
_________________

[Kojiri]

The thing I'm noticing from all the comments is everyone is talking about "deadline" being a big factor.

Do labels really put such unrealistic deadlines on artists for original work or is this just a case of a guy not using his time wisely and partying it up instead of focusing on the work he was supposed to be doing? I'm pretty confident it was the latter. A procrastinator having his procrastination catch up to him.
_________________

[Saltrubbed Eyes]

I think it's ok to appropriate images from an old movie poster etc if it's in homage but not ok to do it with another artist's work if that artist is still around.