Frank Frazetta is one of the most influential fantasy artists of all time. His work spans decades and has been seen in outlets as tame as Sunday morning comic strips like "Lil' Abner" to works of fantasy horror like "Death Dealer." Artists like Boris Vallejo credit Frazetta as having a major influence on their works. You can apply some of the principles behind Frazetta's technique to your own fantasy paintings to help improve your work.
Creating Frazetta Style Figures
Frank Frazetta began his career doing comic book and comic strip illustration. As a result, the figures in his paintings take on a larger-than-life style. Male figures have heroic bodies with large chests, muscles and vicious snarls on their faces. Frazetta creates women with seductive curves, strength and hypnotically powerful eyes.
You can emulate this style by drawing the framework of your figures with action in mind. Pretend you are illustrating a comic book and place larger-than-life features on your characters rather than restricting yourself to extreme realism.
Composition
Compelling composition is key to creating a painting that emulates the work of Frank Frazetta. One of the most effective ways to do this is to frame your composition using a large triangle shape as a guideline. The hero can be the top of the triangle with his fallen foes at his feet. You can also draw a heroic triangular composition by having the hero in the center, sword aloft, with a damsel laying to one side of him and a wild beast on the other.
The main goal is to ensure that your composition pulls the viewer in and helps to tell a story. Place the character with the most power in the top of the triangle. If a barbarian is struggling against the hypnotic gaze of a sorceress, place her at the top and the barbarian kneeling below.
Emotional Backgrounds
Frank Frazetta typically does not flesh out his entire background. Instead, he often employs abstract waves of color or simple patterns in the background. The techinique also serves to evoke a particular mood such as rage, seduction or terror.
You can apply this to your paintings by creating your backgrounds with a particular emotion in mind. A painting that evokes suspicion and mystery might be dark and clouded in the background. A painting that displays a warrior's revenge might have a red and jagged background. The background can also show the mortal consequences of violence, such as the loss of blood, as well as symbolize a wrathful emotion.
