PROJECTS:

Projects 1 - GODDESSES book

Projects 2 - CUSTOM MADE  book

Norma Editorial

Projects comprises two books with one clear difference. The first book brings to- gether images designed to roam freely in my neverending dreams about the world of fantasy and the feminine, while the second one offers specific works that were designed as part of an actual project or as proposals for the cover of a particular product or book.

Cover of PROJECTS 1 - GODDESSES

GODDESSES

The female figure impregnates these pages. The protagonist, the “Goddess”. Throughout my career she’s been a constant. A repeated image in search of the ideal, in search of that mother goddess lost in time. Nowadays, and in particular in the contemporary art, whether it be the plastic, literary or other arts, we often see portraits of what is real, current, unadorned, a reflection on our present, our values and also on our limitations. It is the reflection of an aesthetic that we see with our eyes in the street, of that which is in front of us and which we consider contemporary. But literature, video games, cinema, comics and illustration are also immersed in this other world that is less visible but just as closely related to our everyday; it focuses on what our eyes do not see, which more closely resembles a desire, a dream, a search, an escape to our ethereal side. On the other hand, throughout history, many ancient and more modern cultures have done exactly this, creating or exploring myths and idealizations that have been shaped and reshaped over the centuries. This trend has always been the one that most interested me. The idea of art being rational, sometimes even pedagogical cuts me off from its magic.

The baths of temptation - Luis Royo - 70 x 100 cm (27.55 x 39.37 in)

When the eyes are tired of looking at the everyday and living in the present, we need to let that distant and imaginary world exist and allow fantasy to enter life. That space is where the primitive men who carved figures of the mother goddess, I mentioned drew inspiration. Those brilliant Greek sculptors who represented the canons of impossible beauty outside of the proportions of the mortals contemplating it. Those Renaissance and Baroque painters who sublimated it, pre-Raphaelites and Modernists... How many works have searched for that ideal beauty? How many have scrambled in search through the steamy mist of imagination? That’s the place where I try to go with the images this book brings together.

La noche de medusa - Luis Royo - 38 x 56 cm (14.96 x 22.04 in)

Images of war, seduction, wind, sterile rocks, torches and shadows to serve as the frame for these ideal dreams. Dream and deceptive trompe l’oeil combined. An open window to admire womankind. Open to the Goddess.

The always never trip - Luis Royo - 85 x 60 cm (33.46 x 23.62 in)

CUSTOM MADE

Cover of PROJECTS 2 - CUSTOM MADE

This second book is a collection of works focused on projects produced for various media and formats. This means that approaching these pieces was very different from the images from the previous book. The goal here is to ensure that the drawing or painting can then be used to create designs that are adapted to the medium that will reach the public, be it on a screen, as a figurine, printed on a cover or a poster, or for the three dimensions of a stage. Several of these projects were carried out as a team with Romulo Royo.

New Taarna - Romulo Royo - 70 x 100 cm (27.55 x 39.37 in)

The pieces saw different finishing phases. Sometimes, only enough information was received to take it to the execution phase in the final medium; in others, there were enough details through different views of the same image to be able to create a volume model; still others offered enough details to capture the atmosphere and describe both characters and decorations, offering a more complete general concept. This book therefore offers various styles of drawings in accordance with those varied goals. They were created with the ultimate goal of adapting the idea to its final purpose. If the image in question is to be the cover of a literary book or a poster, the objective of the drawing changes, and rather than adapting to the detail necessary to reach the final goal, we need in a single image to capture all the possible details that offer a visual idea of the content.

Batgirl - Luis Royo - 70 x 100 cm (27.55 x 39.37 in)

Each of these projects has been a challenge because of this variety, meaning the work never becomes a routine and the drawing board is always an unexpected place, a window into worlds with ever different needs. The demands of the project mean that the premise underlying each piece is different, and also means the time taken to define the detail may be limited either because of deadlines or because other specialists are involved in other parts, further constraining the schedule. This represents a challenge, with the goal to ensure each piece is effective. In this book I have brought together works updating a well-known, cult character, as is Taarna; a brief proposal to present a series for the small screen; two musicals that differ greatly in their plastic conception in terms of scenery, wardrobe and ambiance; a few covers for books; a character to be transferred to a video game and work to create volume figures of superheroes. This represents a heterogeneous itinerary that I hope, in its variety, manages to show the many invisible facets of the artist’s brush.

Malinche Reina Madre - Luis Royo - 30 x 42 cm (11.81 x 16.53 in)

Batgirl- Luis Royo - 30 x 42 cm (11.81 x 16.53 in)