Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media. He is often referred to as the “Godfather” of Fantasy Art, and one of the most renowned illustrators of the 20th century. To create his art, Frazetta mainly used oil, but also worked with watercolor, ink, and pencil alone. It seems like his beautiful piece below was created using oil as well.

Frazetta’s illustration below is a dramatic fantasy piece in which the play of light and dark values create a high-contrast striking scene. Very dark value in the top section of the background brings a lot of emphasis to two figures in the foreground. Out of these two figures, the woman in the very front is almost twice as illuminated as the man, especially in her chest and cheek area. The man’s dimly lit face creates a very high-value contrast with the woman’s and that in result, delivers an engaging, captivating and mysterious illustration. I also find man’s near-the-chest cape area beautifully lit against the dark background, as opposed to the end of the cape that’s a lot dimmer.