Sperm Whales Chasing Tuna

THE CLIENT: Yet another Japanese illustrated literary classic edition of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick: or The Whale." "Hakugei: The Legend of the Great White Whale" was an edited and assembled anthology of rendered art based on Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick. The Tokyo publishing house assembled this coffee-table sized book from a number of illustrations focused upon both classic American "Charles W. Morgan" class American whaling ships and renders of the Great White Whale which was described from surviving crew members of the 1820 Essex ramming incident by a bull sperm whale northwest of Hawaii in 1820 for a 1989 multi-artist graphic novel in a solid and very well-bound cover.

THIS RENDER: The assignment with this image was to insert the battered and and suffering ocean behemoth into an all natural environment. He had been hunted relentlessly. The original which was drawn on a paper page for sketch illustration was found amongst my late deceased maternal grandmother's personal papers and portfolio rendered art pieces.

BOOK SYNOPSIS: "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale" is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee.

ART CATEGORY: I rendered this illustration study with pens, inks, markers, heavy Berol Prisma pencils which followed several pencil and ballpoint sessions.

ILLUSTRATION SUBJECT: The First of two success ramming attacks on the 113 ft (34 m), 351.3 (Old Tons) American whaling double-topsail bark rig vessel Pequod.

FROM THE WIKIPEDIA FILM SYNOPSIS: Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, along with a crew including Starbuck (Leo Genn), Father Mapple (Orson Welles) and Ishmael (Richard Basehart), to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.