Master Coconut

So now you know what I've been up to and why I haven't updated for a while!

Okay, first of all, please please check out the detail shots below - SO much gets lost upon resizing it isn't funny. All detail shots are taken at 100% zoom.

This was my entry to the CGTalk Master and Servant challenge. It was indeed challenging, I had never put so many figures in a single image, and the whole exaggerated perspective thing was rather new to me.

The story of the image is that the central figure is a world dominating coconut that is being worshipped by all these people. The figures on the right bring and sacrifice a symbolic amount of blood and then move on to the left where they are granted some of the glowing liquid that is continuously being extracted from the coconut. (Too bad one of them apparently tripped and lost hers - see detail shot, figures (left).)

As for the meaning behind this insanity, it is a gesture in the direction of the idolisation of the 'cool and unreachable' people that happens from time to time. Here I am exploring the various sides of this idolisation through a master-servant relationship - the figures around the coconut are apparently slaves to the one inside the coconut, whereas the one inside the coconut also serves those around him as the energy is drained from him. So in the end, everyone bows down to the illusory golden coconut shell. There are many more little symbolical details - the figures have different meanings - there's a mother figure with blood over her tummy, an old man with blood over his heart, a lady with not quite natural beauty with blood on her face (these are all seen in the detail shot 'figures (right)'). Moreover, the hoods cover their eyes not without reason. And every slave that is chained to the coconut's throne has a little key somewhere on her. And so on and so forth.

Time taken - about 80-100 hours
Tools - Corel Painter 9, at first Trust tablet, then Wacom Intuos 3

Critiques are welcome!

Details:
Detail - figures (right) (76Kb)
Detail - coconut (120Kb)
Detail - figures (left) (106Kb)
Detail - face on the wall (112Kb)
Detail - snarl! (67Kb)
Detail - just a little sprout (5Kb)
Detail - 'sleeper' (31Kb)