Saturday, August 17, 2013

Return from radio silence!

I've been pretty much absent for the past month, for various reasons, but I return to the light of the internet with progress on my art!

First up, the piece I was calling Far and Away but is actually still working on a title.


That is a first pass plus some extra poking at the arms plus glazing, aka a first pass plus procrastination because the next step is the first go at the mosaic wall. Some of this is... sloppy, and I absolutely lost the drawing of the left shoulder where it meets the hair, but it's all within acceptable parameters for a first pass and I'm pleased with were it's going.

Next, something that has the title that the previous piece used to have: Far and Away


It's ready for a tighter drawing, a reference shoot, and color studies, and I'm excited about what this looks like in my head.


Lastly, something I've been trying to do, in one way or another, for something like six years: an illustration for Sabriel. This thumbnail is one of a batch that I did in my sketchbook last month, and while it's still obviously very rough and not much bigger than my actual thumbnail, there's something in this one I keep coming back to.

Sabriel has defeated my every past attempt to illustrate. The book itself is so important to me, something that's been a dear favorite for something like thirteen years (???) - and it's hard to get around an emotional wall that thick, to see past it to what I need to do for my image. Beyond that, the cover illustration is foundational to me. This is an image that hits almost physically when I see it unexpectedly, that I still think of as the perfect illustration in my heart of hearts. Trying to create my own image, that's not only not a Dillons rip-off but also something that I can accept, as a fan...

...that's tough.

So in the meantime, while gingerly working through that set of issues, I did studies - including working out how the bells hang off of the bandolier. (I'm pretty proud of my design, not gonna lie.)