Eowyn and the Nazgul challenge

I'll keep this short and sweet. After reading Jon Schindehette's blog post I felt I had no choice but to join in. I've been up past 2 am for the last 10 days sketching, drawing, painting and letting my other piece sit on the side for a bit until I complete this new painting. It will be my first ArtOrder Blog challenge. Since I've been working on building up my portfolio it'll be a nice addition and certainly a challenge! I'll post the final drawing and painting in May. Please read the details on Jon's blog here.

Character Sketch part 2 (Before & After)

Yesterday I posted info about the left photo. Today I made some minor adjustments to the sketch. There's leather padding under the armor wrapping around and extending to the upper arm. Some of it will be showing through the metal. He now has a bigger jewel on his helmet, bottom tooth showing, 3 piercings in his ear, 1 behind his eye and a few leather straps in his hair. Every little detail helps to make a character really stand out. I never do separate character studies before the final piece but I think it'll pay off in the end. As I mentioned in my last post, he'll be accompanied by a warrior elf on the final.

Both beings of light are fleeing from a suffocating structure that they magically set ablaze in some far off land. They're attempting to drown a corrupt system overflowing with riches, a darkness where love is sleeping and evil has no bounds. Shadow lords threaten to control every inch of their lives, their world. With shielded hearts the ones of light unfold and begin the ultimate domino effect, setting in motion a breath as light as a moth that pervades their Universe and our very own. Evil is in repose for evermore and Love reawakens, forgetting nightmares and burying heavy eyes.

Character Sketch 8" x 10"

Working out this character sketch for my next painting/portfolio piece. Spent a couple hours trying to figure it out and I'm still working at it. He'll be running alongside a blade wielding warrior elf chick on the final. I'll probably make the armor more intricate and do some minor adjustments either on this sketch or right on the final. The hair's beginning to bug me a bit. Thought I'd share the progress.

"Trance" Oil - 15" x 20"

Here is the final painting on gessoed illustration board. This is my first time using oil throughout the entire painting process on this type of surface without an acrylic underpainting. It's a bit different from canvas. This is for my portfolio and it will be joining me at Illuxcon 4. Thanks to openimagestudio for photographing! Hope you all enjoy it!

Things Change

This is an unfinished portion of my current piece. On the left is the initial drawing. As you can see from the image on the right it went through a few changes. I constructed the crude maquette after completing the drawing which is my usual process. Inspired by my model I decided to paint over the existing drawing, making the dragon's helmet appear more powerful. Obviously I wouldn't be making changes without permission to do so if this was for a client but considering that it's a personal portfolio piece, I went with the flow. The complete painting will be up on the blog this month.

Background in progress

I've been working on the background using thin washes, pushing and pulling areas. At this point nothing is finished on this piece and I'm looking forward to the last few minutes where I'll be refining and yes.....I also need a hair cut.

As I mentioned above, nothing is complete. I'm being a bit more loose with my brushstrokes, letting the eye blend the chunkiness at a distance. The main character will be detailed, sharp, in focus.

Spectrum 18 Submissions

Several days ago I sent out four entries for Spectrum 18. I've been attempting to get in for a few years now. Last year I sent in my Centaur piece, which I believed to be one of my best pieces at the time. I thought I had a good chance with it but unfortunately, it wasn't accepted. That's not stopping me though. I'm going to keep on trying and hopefully one day my work will be published. Good luck to everyone entering!

Thanks to openimagestudio for printing!
Click here to see last years Centaur submission :)
Click here to visit Spectrum's website.