Hey guys, I thought I'd take you through the process of an illustration I just finished that I'm pretty happy with. Maybe it will be of some help to others or at least entertaining to see it develop. Also watch as my photography skills get (slightly)better too! The concept is the guy is a disciple of the god of time: Chronos who had 3 different heads, one of which was a lion.
This was actually done in my sketchbook. the paper has been sealed with acrylic and here is a wash to get some values down and cement the drawing so I don't lose it.
The first layer of acrylic washes just to get local colors down.
This is as far as I'm developing the acrylic underpainting. It was very valuable due to it's quick drying time and the ability to clean up with water.
The first oil layer. The painting was very odd to me, and really the only reason I wanted to continue was the nice rendering on the drapery to the left.
This is where I first thought the painting had some real potential. The lighting was nice, but the head and his expression just seemed to be for a different painting entirely.
At this point I know I have something decent here. I glazed over the head and arms with black to lower their value and add some grit and realism. I also gave him a more solemn expression ( or as best I could, never painted a sad lion before). Rim lighting makes EVERYTHING better.
I was kind of amazed at how well this came out with such a humble, unsuspecting beginning. That's one reason I like this so much. It was also the first time in a while I painted some REAL detail, and on such a small scale ( 8x11 inches).
