Hey folks. This month we art out on ‘prelim work’. If you’ve been following me, you know I usually show the process of a final painting-stage here on Muddy- but that begs the question, “Dude, how did you arrive at that image before you touched a real brush?”So in this 10 min video I take you through a rough composition. I talk to you about how I thumbnail, how I evolve that thumbnail beyond chicken scratch, and how I refine that a bit more with value and rendering.  Yup, all before I touch a real brush. The final result today is NOT a finished drawing, but it is indicative of the prep work I do for my work.

For me it is all about doing the legwork. In my early days I hated doing prelim work. Like I was scared I would get bored of a piece, you know? So I would start painting with only a half-ass drawing and think I could fix it in the paint and I couldn’t. And here is the crazy thing my younger self didn’t understand, turns out your grade school teacher was right, when you do the homework first, the test is easy, or in my case I get to enjoy the painting process. It is liberating to have that weight lifted, and when it is prime-time, I am free to think about the application of materials and have fun because I know I won’t have to sweat the hands or faces.

(Hmmm, the arm on our right is still jacked up… don’t worry, I will fix it. After all, drawing is RE-drawing.)