New Raging Heroes Pegasus and Sorceress

[parthvader]

I like the dynamic pose.

It is not the fact that it is a dynamic pose that I find disconcerting. I just find the dynamism a little overdone.

The long axis of the creature's torso, for example, is angled downwards at about 45 degrees. Now, there is nothing wrong with this per se, but then the neck of the creature is angled upwards at 45 degrees. The two meet at too acute an angle and this I find a little jarring. I think that a slightly less acute angle here, with the neck not sticking upwards but more horizontally, would create a better impression. The overall impression is of a V-shape and I think this may account partly for the perception of the figure being 'mangled'. The overall impression here is not just one of dynamism, but of hyper-dynamism. Similarly, the sorceress' is looking upwards, and her spear is also aimed upwards. Again this forms a very angular impression. Of course a rider can conceivably hold a spear or staff in any position, but I am not criticising the figure in terms of being unrealistic, but only expressing an opinion about the form of this sculpt.

Now, I will not get into any debates about whether or not it is "realistic" for a flying horse to be depicted this way, because of course it is for the individual artist to choose how exactly a mythical creature in a magical universe should look. But I do think that a less angular look, with the figure not having these acute angles would give a smoother, less disjointed impression.

So de gustibus non disputandum and all that sort of thing, but I do hope that RH will use the comments on this thread positively and come up with a smoother, sleeker final version.

[Ludaman]

The horse head doesn't look great, neither does the rearing neck. The sorceress is looking good, although I'm not a giant fan of side saddle either. This one needs some work before sending it to cast, but not a bad starting point

[shelfunit.]

The two meet at too acute an angle and this I find a little jarring.

Although not quite as jarring I expect as the poor pegasus' neck appears to find it...

[Souleater]

@Parthvader: Fair enough. You've given reasoned criticism of the model rather than ranting and attacking other posters.

I agree with you about the head. RH are, as you say, are keen to listen to potential customers.

[Little Joe]

Some criticism:
A real life horse (as the basis for a pegasus) cannot have a neck/head angle like that without it being broken. The neck has a lot of muscle and will not bend easily upwards, neither can the head go at that angle, for reference check a horse with loose reins stretching its neck. That is about as much as you get for the head. The neck should have a curve to it.
Horses do not move their legs in that position ever either, in this pose the left hind leg should be pointing to the front. It is a trot snapshot with the right legs stretched at the same time, so check that for reference. If the pegasus is supposed to be kicking out though, the right front leg should not be stretched. In that case the twist of the back is a bit strange but possible. Horses cannot see what goes on at their back so they kick out straight where the black spot is. When they kick at the side they just lift one leg to the front and give you a good smack with a sideways swinging kick. The current position is more rodeo style and it is a bit weird to see that on a rider who is supposed to be in control.
Riding sideways means your but is firmly on the back of the horse and your legs are close to the body (this is well done), you turn your upper body to the front and use it as a counterweight, when doing it free leg so to say. So her torso needs a twist. This rider is far too much too the front and side. When you do this, a saddle with a knob helps to stay on when it is a flying beast. Basically you sling the front leg around it and squeeze to hold on tight. You can do without, but you will fall off when the pegasus lands, nothing will keep you on there. Which is basically what this rider does, so that is accurately sculpted. It could be a dismounting lady to cut you apart, sliding elegantly from the horse (but with her legs badly angled for that).

As a start though not bad at all, actually a very nice sculpt to be, amazing what this computer sculpting does. Very dynamic.

[parthvader]

@Parthvader: Fair enough. You've given reasoned criticism of the model rather than ranting and attacking other posters.

I agree with you about the head. RH are, as you say, are keen to listen to potential customers.

Yup. The best thing about Raging Heroes is the way they are willing to listen to customer feedback and modify their designs accordingly. Its good for Dark Elf players that there is now a realistic alternative to buying GW models. I sincerely hope that RH go on to make some Dark Elf spearmen and regular cavalry units to go with these.

[Imp of High Noon]

The pegasus is cool, the sorceress is cool, I'm not quite convinced by the way the two components come together, she does look like when the beast lands she's going to leap off it. That might be what they're going for, but I'm still not convinced.

[loveless]

It needs work.

The side saddle has issues on a flying mount (then again, standard saddles have issues, too) and the rider looks far too "tacked-on" currently. I'm sure that they'll fix it before the final version, though.

The pegasus has the strangest positioning I've seen in an equine model. It's like someone took a toy horse and bent the joints into impossible angles. It looks like it just received a hammer-blow to the head from the Mighty Thor, resulting in the neck-breaking posing.

In short, I like the concepts, but not the execution. They still haven't caught the same "magic" that their Manticore has, in my opinion.

[Ludaman]

What loveless said. Although I realized what the Pegasus reminds me of, Pokey, Gumby's horse

[Harry]

Yes, yes she is. The point of sidesaddle is to look like you're about to fall off but not actually to fall off, thus demonstrating your superior horsewomanship. It's actually surprisingly safe, on horses at least. One imagines it would be considerably harder ona pegasus, but that is where the magic comes into it.

It's not magic ... it is a fury saddle and she is wearing Velcro pants.

[eldargal]

I like the way you think.

[AlexHolker]

It's not magic ... it is a fury saddle and she is wearing Velcro pants.

She's wearing pants?

[Harry]

She's wearing pants?

I'm guessing she doesn't like the way you think.


Leap of your pegasus into the battle .... and take care of hair removal all at the same time.
If that doesn't get her into a berserk rage nothing will.

[pointyteeth]

Leap of your pegasus into the battle .... and take care of hair removal all at the same time.
If that doesn't get her into a berserk rage nothing will.

Side-saddle bikini wax? I don't see that catching on.

[Ludaman]

Pretty sure "side-sadle-bikini-wax" is on tour with Anthrax and Iron Maiden this year...

[Urgat]

I'm usually a fan of Raging heroes stuff, but I got to admit that this time I'm not too impressed. The sorceress is great, as expected, but the pose of the pegasus is just too messy, imho. It really looks like some rifleman just got a potshot at it and scored a 100%. And if the elf has her legs on the wing, how is it supposed to flap it? Nah, it needs more work.