Neona - Finished portrait commission

Finished portrait commission with a sci-fi atmosphere:

Neona, digital 2012

Finished Digital Painting - Cybernetic Fae

Yesterday I finished my latest image for the ImagineFX March challenge, "Cybernetic Fae":

Cybernetic Fae (2010)

Finished Work - Naiad

It's finished! My challenge entry for this months ImagineFX monthly challenge is signed and submitted. Here is what it finally ended up like:

Naiad (2010)

Work In Progress - Naiad, (Wip 8)

WiP 8 of the Naiad I'm working on:

(Nudity) From the Sketchbook - Female Life Painting

(Post contains artistic nudity)

Here is the start of a practice in painting the human figure from life. Done in ArtRage3 from photo reference:

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.

From the Sketchbook - Face Studies from Photo, Frazetta and Mind

The human face is truly one of the most challenging (and fascinating) things to draw. Here are some face studies I did the other day. I tried drawing first a simple line drawing of a face and then a "mass" version, adding tone and values.

The first and third of these were drawn from fashion photos, second is a master study of a face from a Frazetta painting. Fourth and fifth were two quick attempts at drawing completely without reference. This clearly shows the importance of using references for your work if aiming for a correct, realistic rendering while learning the anatomy of various body parts.

There are so many shortcomings in the last unreferenced face that if this had been a sketch for a painting, I would probably redraw it from skratch. I include it here for instructive reasons. Notice how I have managed to misplace the features and also made the torso much too small in the second one.

It is important that you do not become too discouraged when one of your sketches "fail" like this. Remember:

Mistakes are actually what teach you the most - if you learn from them, make sure you don't keep repeating them and use the new knowledge to adjust and improve your next attempt. This is true for drawing as well as life.

(0.7 HB in sketchbook)

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.

From the Sketchbook - Whitney Houston

Another sketch I drew for the Sketchstorm thread. This time we were supposed to draw an album cover from any album by Whitney Houston. I chose the cover for My love is your love:

(mechanical 0.7 HB in sketchbook; Original Photo by Dana Lixenberg)

(Nudity!) From The Sketchbook - The Night

(This post contains artistic nudity!)

A sketch of Van der Schardts sculpture The Night that I recently did for the Sketchstorm thread I've started:

Free Tattoo Design - Shakira

For those who have been waiting, here it is: A Shakira tattoo design.

Hope it 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. Tell me if you would need any of my designs posted 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.

Work In Progress - Frazetta Female Master Study

Woke up without fever this morning. Felt like returning to one of my beloved Frazetta art books and started drawing another master study. This time a female about to be attacked by a lion.

(mechanical 0.7 HB pencil on standard office paper)

Work In Progress - Good Vs Evil

Here's a little update on the Good Vs Evil piece I'm doing for the December challenge at ImagineFX. Done in ArtRage 2.5 this far.

Have made a new transparent layer and begun adding some thicker color using the oil paint tool (thinner 50%). Only had time for parts of the background and some of the characters this far though.

How many fairy tales can you find? (it's supposed to be more than 5 there).

(Nudity) From the Sketchbook - Female Figure Master Studies

(Note: Post includes artistic nudity)

One of the best ways to improve figure drawing skills is to study the masters. Since drawing from the masters is something I just love doing this is one of my favorite ways to practice. I actually try to do some kind of master study every day and truly recommend this for anyone serious about improving.

Here are some quick female figure studies from masters like Tizian, Corregio and Dossi. Hope you like them and that they can inspire you to draw. (HB mechanical 0.7 pencil on regular office paper).

Have a great weekend.

From the Sketchbook - Another Lee Master Study

Here's the start of another master study from a Lee drawing. This time of Goldberry from the house of Tom Bombadil. (Used a mechanical 0.7 HB pencil on regular office paper):

(Nudity) From the Sketchbook - Frazetta Female Study

(Nudity alert!)

Another Frazetta master study I have begun drawing. Drawn with HB pencil on regular office paper.

Since "Sketch of the day" has been a slightly misleading title I will use "From the Sketchbook" when posting sketches from now on.

Sketch Of The Day - Emma Andersson

Todays sketch was drawn from a photo reference as well. It's a sketch of the Swedish celebrity Emma Andersson. The pencil used is a mechanical 0,7 HB.

(Nudity!) WiP of The Day - Another Figure Drawing Update

Another update on the Carracci master study. Still only using HB pencil to create the darkest areas. These are made by drawing many layers in the same area with added pressure. The pencil used is from the Derwent graphic series.

(Nudity!) WiP of The Day - Update on The Carracci Figure Drawing

Another update on my Carracci study (latest WiP found here). Drawn with HB pencil. No erasers or blending used and I have tried to make sure to use construction lines in order to establish proportions and relations between different parts of the body. This makes the study more instructive.