I decided to try my hand at the assignment “Populate the Landscape” since I am a huge fan of Arrowhead altered art. I’d like to start off by saying it was a complete accident that I picked the exact same Rob Ross painting as the one on this assignment’s description page. I actually found this image through a Google Search, and only realized it was the same one after I had already completed this assignment. Sorry, not sorry! After finding an image I liked through Google, I took inspiration from the Northern Lights in the sky on just who I wanted to populate this image with. Now, I’m sure many people reading this probably got the reference in the title or even recognized the muscle-bound figure raising his sword to the heavens. If you don’t, well you’ve missed out on a glorious part of popular culture. Anyways, the figure is He-Man, the alter ego of Prince Adam from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The entire reason I decided to include him in this image is because of the way the light seems to be shining down on that particular part of the painting. It reminded me of He-Man’s transformation, which involves him raising his sword to the heavens and shouting his battle cry, which prompts lightning to rain down on him, transforming the cowardly Prince Adam into the powerful warrior He-Man. I know it sounds a little cringey, but it was a 1980s cartoon and comic series that has been a huge part of my life, and I thought it fit this painting. How I edited this wasn’t particularly difficult. I don’t have photoshop, so I used Pixlr to drop He-Man into Bob Ross’ world. Pixlr is a great free alternative to Photoshop, and it works right in your browser. I’ve used it in the past to colorize an old photograph and really enjoyed how user friendly it was. I actually think it’s better than Photoshop in some ways, mostly because I’ve never been able to wrap my head around Photoshop. I think this particular painting compliments the figure of He-Man, since the colors give is a fantasy or magical vibe, whereas He-Man is a character from a magical background. Please tell me what you think by commenting below!