October 4, 2011

DragonRiders

Introductions aren't quite done, but I'd like to share a recent piece (my apologies for the interruption). It started out as a quick demo for Pixelcraft, then I kept picking at the sketch, and eventually decided to finish it. Ironically, there are no dragons in my portfolio (some dragon-like creatures, but no actual dragons), hopefully this will fill that gap...







10 comments:

  1. Hell yeah! Craig bringing his A-Game. This looks so good, man. Really? No dragons? That's crazy. And it's so funny you say this started as only a sketch and turned into a full finish. The same thing happened to me yesterday with a piece meant only to be a warm up. I'll have the painting done shortly, I'm anxious to share it with you all. (Thanks for showing that progress, too! so damn cool)

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  2. Thanks Eric! It's not quite done yet, the details could use a bit of fine tuning. I'm also planning to extend the image on the top and right side to make room for text (then submitting it to Kobold Quarterly as a cover idea).

    Looking forward to seeing your new painting!

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  3. Wow, Great work on the scales. Really solid.

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  4. I love looking at other artists' process. I usually start working with a line sketch and add in really rough value, and do the majority of the rendering in color. Seeing other ways of approaching finishing up a piece from sketch to finish always inspires me- I like shifting things up time to time.

    Plus this is a great piece! The dragon is really nicely done.

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  5. Thanks Chris & Anna!

    It's fun to shift approaches on the initial drawing, but for the last few years I've been starting with big broad strokes. I'll occasionally begin with a contour, though it usually leads to the image being really tight and micro detailed. Rough ground work helps to prevent me from rendering eyelashes and engraved buttons (well... most of the time anyway :).

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  6. Green and orange compliments poppin off..!! Great Dragon !! Beautiful scales along the neck, Craig.. =)

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  7. Great process Craig. Well done. Excellent piece!

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  8. Thanks guys! The canvas expansion is coming along nicely. I was concerned about the second version looking forced, but the open space in the background is giving the composition a more airy feel.

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  9. Nice! I specifically love the in-progress timeline shots. I still go back and forth between starting with a line drawing and starting straight into value / color painting in PS. Different for different projects, but my preference is to go straight to paint. There's just something more organic about that process for some reason. Thanks for posting this, man!

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  10. Love It Craig Would I be able to use it on my facebook page with a credit to you and a link here ? I play Game of thrones Ascent and it is perfect for showing a dragonrider. in our page cover.

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