This is the third post on Beorne and Bolg at the Battle of the Five Armies. We are about 95% Finished! Still a few odds and ends to tweak but it is getting to a nice stage of pleasant mayhem.
This time, instead of trying to explain how we went from here to here:
I am attaching a GIF to show the stages that the painting goes through.
I like making GIFS. Sometimes when I paint I feel like I am actually going backwards, making the piece worse minute by minute. Seeing the actual progress of it can be really encouraging.
In the GIF you can see I am working values first before ever really getting into saturated colors. That is because saturated colors are evil.
They are like petting a cat….
Everyone is purring and having a nice time when suddenly he whips around and tries to bite your hand off.
That is what working with saturated colors is like.
I am still working on some of the fine details, and of course my signature. (Everyone knows that the quality of one’s painting is directly proportional to the size and complexity of the signature.)
After it is finished we plan to make prints of it in time to be released alongside sketchbook 2014…
Stay tuned!
For previous posts on this painting check out:
I love the facial expressions of the guys being attacked by the beast. Ha ha! Seriously, a beautifully executed piece of art.
Magnificent! I saw this post and just sat for a minute, soaking all the detailing, lighting, and values. You're an inspiration, Justin, thank you.
Breathtaking! Did you have any issues with the watercolors? Looks like the watercolors were a pretty short stage in the process.
So good it hurts!
No issues really – I knew that I wanted to keep my pencil drawing intact, so I had planned to keep the watercolor phase really light (and not try oil or any heavier work over top of them). So I spent a lot longer on the pencil stage and the color stage than I did on the watercolor.
Very cool! What do you do with the physical painting when it's just a step in the process and not the actual end result? Do you try to bring it to a level of completion so that it can stand on it's own as a finished work of art, or is it just an under-painting for the digital final?
“Be a war drummer to invigorate others into battle. Be a flag-bearer! It'll be safe! I HAD to listen to my parents… and now I'm likely about to be torn to shreds by a giant beast. Thanks, Mom!”
Maybe this has been done, but if not, I'd be really interested to hear about the how you went about planning the composition for such a complex scene, and how it differs (I guess if it even does) from your process when dealing with a more concise image. This has come out beautifully!
Dang. That is totally amazing.
great post