Work In Progress - Naiad, (Minitutorial part 2, WiP 4 and 5)

Have kept working on my Naiad and will continue the little tutorial I published along with WiP 1 to 3 in a recent post. First I tried to apply roughly the general shape and feel of water, that I would later spread out using the palette knife. This led to a chaotic stage of the process:

Then I changed my mind and decided that the water would follow the oval shapes of the underlying structure. This meant that it would be painted more like ripples. Here is the latest version:

 

Since this I've been thinking whether I should change the direction of the water. Since the nymph is supposed to be a part of the element, maybe it would be better to have the water flowing in the direction of the flow and planes of the figure? It probably would.

To paint an image like this is a process taking part subconsciously and in the mind as well as on the canvas. It's a process of solving one visual problem after another, an internal journey and exploration of ideas, concepts and designs. This is what makes it so endlessly fascinating and inspiring.

Work in Progress - Naiad (mini-tutorial, WiP 1-3)

Thus it became a new decade. New decade means new year. New year means new month and new month...means a new MyFX Monthly Challenge over at the ImagineFX forum! The theme for January is "Hiding in plain sight".

Posting the first three WiPs, this post is a very brief tutorial on the workflow I've used in the beginning phase of painting this image.

Since I really enjoy figurative painting and need to continually practice this challenging but oh so fascinating subject, I decided to paint a Naiad (water nymph). The idea is for her to be almost one with her related element (water). For this I used ArtRage3 and the oil paint tool.

Working from a photo reference of a female in a dress, I began by very roughly applying midtone to a colored background, as well as a dark and a light tone. Doing this I tried to capture the flow of the figure and her dress.

I also started to think about the underlying structure of the composition, as taught in the ArtTrek series  on design and composition by Charles Bernard The dominating shape of this image will be the circle or oval.

Naiad - 1st WiP

I then began working on improving the basic outline and form of the shade. Mostly in the face and on the upper right arm. For this I used the palette knife tool. I just love to first block in the colour roughly and then moving it around to its proper places using the palette knife.

Naiad - 2nd WiP

I kept defining the outline and basic tones of the figure working in much the same way. Also decided that some parts of the figure should "float" and mix with the surrounding water. I also decided to change one of the underlying shapes somewhat.

In order to apply more detail I zoom in on the painting. Since I plan for the final version to be 600x800, I'm working with a 1200x1600 sized canvas. I then know that if a detail seems alright when working at 75% of the canvas size, it will also work when I finally make the finished image half as big.

Naiad - WiP3

So far I think this piece is off to a rather good start. The next important decision is whether to stick to purely monochromatic or if I should introduce other colors, perhaps moving in a more expressive direction. We'll see where I'll take it from here.

Chris Moore - Master of Composition

Just added a link to another great artist. Chris Moore is a famous illustrator, known for the marvellous compositions of his paintings. He is one of the masters analyzed and featured in Charles Bernard's Arttrek series. I truly recommend visiting his site and spending some time in his galleries. Inspiring and educational.