From the Sketchbook - Female Thief Character

New week and today it's sunny, the sky is blue and birds fill the snowcovered bush outside my window. What better thing to draw then than a thief lurking in the shadows. This is a quick character sketch I did for the Sketchstorm thread:

(0.7 HB in sketchbook)

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.

Work In Progress - Free Eagle Tattoo Design (WiP2)

Perhaps some of you are wondering what happened to that free eagle design I began drawing. Fear not, I have not forgotten about it. Last night I kept working on it, but I'm not quite ready to consider it finished yet. Thought I'd show you the progress from last time though. Hope to snart post the finished version.

(Done in ArtRage 3)

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Cats (3)

As mentioned yesterday, I have drawn some new designs. This time it's a popular animal: The cat.

Hopefully these will be useful and inspirational to you.

I am grateful for any feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to have available for free here. Tell me if you would need any of my designs in a different size or color than I've posted them.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."


For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

Free Tattoo Design Concept - Flower

Time for another free design, this time a flower.

Hopefully it will be useful and inspirational to you. For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

Please give me feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to have available for free and we'll see what I can come up with. Tell me if you would need any of my designs in a different size than I've posted them.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."  

(Updated!) Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Stars (5)

One of the most popular tattoo designs are stars. The basic star shape offers many opportunities for further exploration, combination and development. Hopefully these designs will be useful and inspirational to you. For more designs and terms of use please read this post.

I am grateful for all feedback on my designs. Also let me know what kind of designs you would like to see next.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Tribal (1)

Tribal designs are arguably the most popular and most frequently occuring of all tattoo designs. Here is a variation on the tribal theme in the shape of a spider.

I hope thise design is useful and inspirational to you. Please give me feedback and let me know what kind of designs you would like to see next.

For more designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..." 

(Updated!) Fantasytree Now With Free Graphic Designs!

I have decided to make this blog even more interesting by offering my readers free design concepts. These can be used as inspiration for more advanced designs or just as nice designs to develop further and use on different documents, letters, webpages and similar.

All designs are available free of charge and may be used by any readers of this blog until otherwise stated. All designs posted here have been drawn by Mindbender. If any design is similar to any artwork under copyright, please let me know and I will remove it immediately.

Please give me feedback and let me know which designs you would like to see available here.

I hope you will find these useful 
/Magnus

More than 20 Free designs:
Butterflies (4)     
Cats (3)  
Celebrity 
Eagle (New!)  
Flower
Hearts (4)  
Stars (5)
Tiger
Tribal

Free Tattoo Design Concepts - Hearts (4)

Another very popular design is the heart. Here are some examples of traditional and less traditional heart design. Hopefully these designs will be useful and inspirational to you.

Please give me feedback and let me know what kind of design you would like to see next.

For other designs and terms of use visit this post.

To download image just right-click and choose "Save image as..."