"Fellowship of the Ring" : Anthony Carpenter

The kind of commission project every collector hopes for -- one in which the finished art so far exceeds one's preconception that it's nearly unbelievable. I had seen a number of gorgeous examples of Anthony's work in his CAF gallery, but nothing quite prepared me for the job he did here. If it's possible, the actual pencil art is even more stunning than the scan seen here. Truly an amazing synthesis of character, scenario, detail, and technique. The shading in this piece comes as close to three dimensions as it's possible for a two-dimensional drawing to approximate. And the common element? Rings -- GL's power ring, SG's ringed planet -- of course.

This is Common Elements #21.