Month of Fear: The Sabbath
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Original is approx. 10" x 14"
Notes: Doing this week's challenge for http://monthoffearart.com/.
This week it was the Sabbath.
I'll Tell You a Secret
3 hours ago
Showing posts with label fantasy character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy character. Show all posts
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Original is approx. 10" x 14"
Notes: Doing this week's challenge for http://monthoffearart.com/.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Digital Painting - Final: Fantasy Portraits
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Each piece is originally 5" x 5"
Notes: We were given free reign over what our final project was to be.
In the vein of Baldur's Gate fantasy portraits, I decided that it would be really awesome to go ahead and try and turn some of the fellow students in class into characters that I would attribute to being in that realm of fantasy.
Top-left is Britney Boswell, turned into an Elven Archer.
She wanted to be an elven something so my natural instinct was to turn her into an archer.
Originally I had a background included in this piece, but when I went back to looking over them as a whole, I decided against it. Since none of the others had any sense of backdrop, why would I include one here.
There are a few snags on this piece though that I didn't notice until critique was given.
A) The bowstrings are a tad on the thick side.
B) The fletchings of the arrows look a bit too thick and not... feathery enough.
C) Some people didn't like the fact that she wasn't looking where she was aiming, I personally like it because it feels like it shows a ton of confidence in her archery skills.
D) The bow's design feels a little unresolved. If you look at the design of it, it doesn't really read as a very sturdy bow. Maybe adding more to the base structure of it could help.
Overall, I really like the way this turned out. I think that the multiple light sources and color schemes help to push the eye all around. The color palette is very harmonious.
Top-right is Brittany Moore, turned into am Elven Swordswoman.
It was an almost immediate response here... I just hear this yell across the class, "I want to be a chaotic-good ELF!" Ask, and ye shall receive.
My choice to go with swordswoman was generally simple. I wanted to have a melee fighter alongside the ranged fighter. With the way it is designed though, I kind of consider this design a half-elf, but... meh, I'm not going to nit-pick.
About the only critique that I remember from this piece was that the hair on the left side of the face should have been blended a bit more into the backdrop.
I have to admit, this is my favorite of the bunch, mainly because of how life-like the eyes are.
But I also have to admit that it wouldn't have been as kick-ass without Lane Brown's input. That guy is a badass!
Bottom-left is April Rodriguez, turned into a Demoness Courtesan.
She gave me the choice on this one by sending me two images. I could have gone either way with this piece. Good or evil. The other version would have been an Angel or something akin to that type of holiness. This one turned out to be kinda unanimously the favorite for the class. It must be those glowing eyes...
The only critique that was really given was about the horns. They felt like they should have been pushed back some as to not compete with the foreground elements.
Everyone seemed to respond mostly to the way the hair and cloth were rendered on this one. Mental note: Paint like this more often.
And lastly, bottom-right is Misa Dowdy-Cannon, turned into a Squid War-Witch.
Initially I had an idea pretty quickly that was a bit more simplistic. It was just to place her as an evil mermaid type character with throat gills and scales. Things got a bit more extreme as I went...
The main critique was about the color band on the edges. They suggested to either do them more and let them fade out, or take them out altogether.
Somewhere along the way I just started to paint and everything felt like it just fell into place like this. The squid elements manifested in the middle of class and I just continued on with it because of the uniqueness of the concept. Everyone seemed to respond to this one too, but I think it was mainly because of how different and ... creepy it was.
Again, I have to thank Lane Brown for his incredible input. He helped turn this piece from okay to awesome.
There you have it... four fantasy portraits based on photos.
This was an important project for me because it was finally a chance to express my creativity while still using reference taken by myself.
Ultimately, this was a great project and I would like to do more portraits just like this!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Illustration 5: Absolved Character Archetype #5 - Masques
Date: October 20 - November 4, 2014
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Sketches vary, Final is 11" x 17"
Notes: I think that during this piece, I went through so many variations of the same thing... That damn hand holding the knife has been redrawn like thirty times. I tried good reference, I tried just winging it, I tried copying directly... I think that ultimately, I just, as always, need to draw more hands.
Regardless, this was still an incredibly fun and challenging piece. I tried to make her a bit sexy, but still have that badassery attached to her. I can honestly say that with each piece that I do, I'm trying to tackle something major so that I can learn from them and make sure not to make the same mistakes again. It's fun, but incredibly frustrating at the same time.
Anyway, more to come!
And also... a little bonus walk-through below:
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Digital Painting: Demo for Class
Date: October 24 & 29, 2014
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Each of the Originals are 2200px x 2200px
Notes: Alright, so perhaps this one needs a tad bit of explaining...
So, once upon a time, I thought it would be very beneficial to learn digital painting. I thought I would never catch up to my peers as there are soooo many people that are really, really badass at digital painting. I was literally struggling to even learn the basics of digital painting. I had my little bamboo and I would just sit and try to paint something... anything.
For quite a while it was something that I went out of my way to avoid. I felt somehow that the tablet would be something that could be learned later, or somehow I would magically just "get it" one day. I would try all sorts of different things. Scanning a drawing and then painting over that - didn't seem to work. Painting with big strokes - that didn't seem to get me where I wanted. Scribbling to get an image to magically appear out thin air - that definitely didn't work.
I would just give up time and time again to just draw again. With a good 'ole pencil. The crazy thing is that you can track my progress on this blog.
Anyway, point being that through perseverance you can really get there. I am finally feeling like I'm getting somewhere. I know that with all creative endeavors, it's a fleeting thing, but this should at least stand as a testament that I'm getting somewhere.
So all this is to say that, somehow I got to a point where I could teach people a little something!
I got asked by my teacher at the beginning of the semester if I would like to guest teach the entire class. Boy was it intimidating, but ultimately, I know that teaching can not only make a person better, but I was willing to - nay needed to - share the knowledge that was passed down to me.
Somehow, the entire class - everyone! - seemed to have made improvements in the small time that I taught. It was invigorating. So I thought that I would follow suit with everyone and join in on the portrait study that I had them work on. I love answering questions and I'm constantly joking that if I don't know it, I'll find someone who does.
Tenacity is an insane thing. And I hope to keep continuing on this crazy tradition. Not only has my fiancee really pushed me constantly to get to a better level, but I've surrounded myself with all manner of creativity. The space that we occupy is littered on almost every surface with art of some sort. She is my catalyst. Couple that with the fact that since the beginning, when I first asked Grace Liu some time back what it means to really work in the art industry, I've been constantly inspired to keep pushing forward.
All I can say is that no matter what, just keep pushing - it might take time, but you can get where you need to in time. Just keep at it!
Also... I've done both of these studies before, and I thought it would be interesting again to show the progress.
July 20, 2014 & January 14, 2014, respectively.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Illustration 5: Absolved Character Archetype #4 - Hellions
Date: October 1 - 16, 2014
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Sketches vary, Final is 11" x 17"
Notes: You know how that moment hits you? That moment where you realize that what you've painted is not exactly what was in your head? I think it's safe to say that's what happened here. There was something that fell apart at the conceptual phase that should have been more realized early on. All I can say is that I need to draw like a billion more children to get a proper handle on drawing them without reference.
That and I was experimenting with new lights and differing color palettes.
Either way... this was one that needs a redesign from the ground up.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Wumpscut - "Hang Him Higher"
Fantasy Pantheon - WIPs
Title: Fantasy Pantheon - WIPs
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Originals are 3000px x 3000px
Notes: There are a ton of fantasy character portraits in the pipe... MORE ON THIS SOON! For now I leave you with these teasers...
Notes: There are a ton of fantasy character portraits in the pipe... MORE ON THIS SOON! For now I leave you with these teasers...
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Twenty One Pilots - "Migraine"
Digital Painting: Shaving is a Bitch
Title: Digital Painting: Shaving is a Bitch
Date: September 26 & 30, 2014
Date: September 26 & 30, 2014
Medium: Photoshop CC / CS6
Scale: Original is 3000px x 3000px
Notes: Continuing on the digital painting portrait tradition, here's the first of many to come. Using portraits that we took, we were to basically copy what we see and try to replicate it to the best of our ability. Each portrait will have a different feel to it. Again, this is the first of many.
Notes: Continuing on the digital painting portrait tradition, here's the first of many to come. Using portraits that we took, we were to basically copy what we see and try to replicate it to the best of our ability. Each portrait will have a different feel to it. Again, this is the first of many.
As a side note, we were to save every fifteen minutes. The result is below.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Flirty Herbalist
Title: The Flirty Herbalist
Date: September 22, 2014
Date: September 22, 2014
Medium: Photoshop CS6
Scale: Original is 1500px x 1500px
Notes: Again, I was staring at the old Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale character portraits.
Notes: Again, I was staring at the old Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale character portraits.
This is my second attempt at a fantasy character portrait done in that style. Trying to push into using reference effectively.
Previous attempt here: http://matkaminski.blogspot.com/2014/08/pre-school-experiments.html
Also... here's where I'm getting ideas for the color schemes: http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=quickchar
And just for fun... here's the tutorial.
