The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, plain and simple.
Death on the Pale Horse.
Famine on the Black Horse.
War on the Red Horse.
The Antichrist on the White Horse.
As the staff illustrator for Saved Magazine, I was tasked with developing a griping image that captured the fury and horror of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The initial thought between the editor of SAVED Magazine, Afshin Yaghtin, and I was that it was going to be a feature image for the cover, and after a brief discussion, that was the direction I went in my design.
The composition of the cover art was dramatic, with the Four Horsemen charging forward to play their role at the end of the world. Even though I was proud of the cover design, Mr. Yaghtin and I decided that each of these individuals needed space to really show off their attributes. In light of that, the cover art instead became a spread.
Details run amuck in this piece as creative energy was loosed upon the digital canvas. Discerning eyes with some Biblical knowledge may notice some intriguing details, such as the many mouths across the body of Famine and the symbolism of the arrow-less bow held by the Antichrist, upon which hangs the peace accord prophesied in Daniel 9:27.
In the end, though the initial art didn't go on the cover of the issue, I'm happy to say that another digital painting I prepared for them was instead used on the cover, that being an interpretation of the abyssal locusts of Revelation. The back of the issue featured a related image, with the locusts bursting forth from their abyssal dwelling to run rampant upon the face of the Earth...
Revelation 9:2-3, 7-10
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
These paintings were produced with Autodesk Sketchbook and Adobe Photoshop. In each case, I discussed details for my concepts with the editor of SAVED Magazine, Afshin Yaghtin, who then gave me complete creative control over the project.
