148 PAGES OF PAGES OF PROFESSIONAL CARD ART TIPS AND TECHNIQUES!
FANTASY
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HOW TO... Paint card art creatures Master new digital art skills
Pain aintt dy dynamic namic
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MAGIC: THE GATHERING’S GREATEST GREA TEST ART REVEALED!
Capture magical light and colour
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ATTTLE EL AT ELD D THAUMATURGE This Magic: The G at athering hering car d p ain ting w as u se d o n th e e ve nt d ec k p ac ka gin g fo r th e ga m e.
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AER AE R E WOR W ORSHI SHIPPER ERSS ainted aint ed in oils on a panel at x24 inches, inches, this this piece is larger than card art us ually is.
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Born and raised in the far northern Australian Australian coastal coastal city of Darwin, Kieran moved to the US at the age of 20 to pursue his dreams as a games and publishing artist. He has certainly tur ned his hand to a broad range of projects for a variety of clients. Working at Fantasy Flight Games, Paizo Publishing, Wizards of the Coast… Coast… the list list goes on. Some of his favourite projects were the WARS trading card game and The Lord of the Rings t rading card game, both published by Decipher. The former was a sci-fi-based affair, and in his work for the series he developed a style that combined painting and photo montage montage to great effect. Working Working on The Lord of the Rings card art, meanwhile, led him to develop his distinctive approach to colour. “I will say the one question I get asked a lot about is how I approach colour. I like strong raw colour. That came from working on the Lord of the Rings for Decipher and having to pump the colours of movie stills for print. Pushing colour for print has stuck with me since, since,”” he he says. says. Kieran’s process and approach changes depending on the project, but his favourite phase is usually developing thumbnails, working working out the composi composition tion and mood of a piece. If he’s working working on figurative ar twork, he uses models, costumes and photography to develop his ideas. “I’d have the model come in for a shoot and spend some time e xplaining the concepts,” he says. “Typically by then I’ve rummaged through my costume selection and have lighting set up. I used to be pretty loose with costuming, costuming, but have grown to really like that part of t he shoot. It feels a little like a scene from a movie unfolding in front of me.”
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Looking at some of French artist Arthur Bozonnet’ Bozonnet’s art, you might think he’s one of the endless ranks who fell in love love with fantasy fantasy by scrawling Frazetta barbarians on his school books. In fact, Arthur found fantasy art late in life, a year after t urning professional. “Prior to that, I was just studying, tr ying my hand at anything,” he explains. He’s certainly gone to the source since then. “In terms of style, Frank Frazetta is t he ultimate Papa, hands down.” Arthur Art hur bought the 2003 Frazetta documentary Painting with Fire and watched it on repeat. “It feels like he’s essentially out of my reach, which makes me nuts,” he says. “I collect his works, I copy some of them, I scrutinise his strokes, and I toss and turn in my bed like a fiend over it.” Arthur’s influences influences are are actually actually more more diverse diverse than those of many artists. He lived in Scotland, Peru, and went to study digital illustration in China. He later lived in Thailand for three year s, working working as an illustra illustrator tor and concept concept artist for for Studio Hive, Bangkok. “Through my travels and experiences,” he says, “I developed a fantasy style that celebrates the dream world, the irresistible call of inner and outer journey, and the exotic appeal of ancient cultures.” When it comes comes to to China, China, Arthur found found his trinity of digital a rtists. “My teacher Chen Wei struck me the most, because he was the f irst digital art ist I met, and he’s a pioneer of digital art in China, along with Zhang Min (AKA Benjamin), who’s another idol of mine,” he enthuses, adding that Singapore-based Skan Srisuwan is another major inspiration. “While their styles are different, these three belong to the same first generation of digital artists in Asia. They’re They’re troopers – they they made made it happen happen from from scratch. It’s a mentality that I look up to.”
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U K p o p u l a ti t i o n – a bo b o u t 4 3 m illi o n p e o p l e –
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t h e p r o c e s s t h a t ta t a ke ke s u p t h e m o s t t im im e and c are, says J eff. C h a r le le s C r o s s , o w n e r o f
a n d U I n e e d t o r e a d c l e a r ly ly . M o b ili l e d e vi v ic e s
U S s t a rt r t -u -u p i n d ie ie g a m e s
a r e g e t t i n g b e t t e r p r o c e s s o r s a llll t h e t im im e ,
d e v e lo lo p e r V a l o r w a r e , s a y s
a n d w e ’r ’r e fo fo c u s e d o n b ri ri n g in g c o n s o l e -
t h e e xp xp a n d i n g m o b ili l e
q u a lil i t y g a m e s t o t a b le le t s a n d s m a r t p h o n e s . W h a t M i c h a e l p a r t ic i c u l a r ly ly l i e s a b o u t
m a r ke ke t o f f e rs rs g r e a t n e w o p p o r t u n i t ie ie s f o r a r t i s t s lo lo o
in g t o b r e a k
t h a t a b o u t 3 3 m illi o n u s e t a b l e t s . I n 2 0 1 0 ,
w o r ki ki n g o n m o b ili l e g a m e s , c o m p a r e d t o
i n t o t h e g a m e s i n d u s t r y . O n e o f th th e
s m a r tp t p h o n e a n d t a bl ble t g a m e s a c c o u n t e d
c o n s o l e o r P C t itit le le s , i s t h e o p p o r t u n it it y t o
b ig ig g e s t b e n e f itit s o f d e e l o p i n g f o r
f o r ju s t f i e p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l s p e n d o n
b e p a r t o f a s m a lll l e r , t ig ig h t e r t e a m a n d t h e
m o b ili l e p l a t fo f o r m s is is t h e l o w e r c o s t o f
s h o r te t e r d e ve v e l o p m e n t c y c le s .
d e v e lo l o p m e n t a n d t h e r e fo f o r e l o w e r b a r r ie ie r s
i d e o g a m e s . G a m e s re r e s e a r c h f irir m N e w z o o b e l ie ie v e s t h a t in in 2 0 1 5 , g l o b a l m o b i le le g a m e
S p i d e r w e b S o f t w a r e a ls l s o p r id id e s it it s e lf lf o n
r e ve ve n u e s e c l ip ip s e d c o n s o le l e g a m e r e ve ve n u e s
i t s “s “s m a l l,l, f r ie ie n d l y ” e t h o s . T h e S e a t t l e -b -b a s e d
f o r t h e f i rs rs t t im i m e . T h e i n c r e a s e i s a t t r ib ib u t e d ,
d e v e lo lo p e r is is b e h i n d c u lt l t R P G t itit le le s A
i n p a r t , t o g a m i n g o n s o c i a l n e t w o r ks ks a n d
G e n e f o rg r g e a n d B l a d e s o f E x ilil e .
t h e r is is e o f t h e c a s u a l g a m e r . A s p i ke ke i n f e m a l e g a m e r s h a s a ls ls o b e e n r e c o r d e d . M i c h a e l isis s e n i o r a r t d ir ir e c t o r a t S a n
ernum ,
W e t e n d t o t h e n e e d s o f o ld ld -
t o e n t r y in in t o t h e m a r ke ke t . H i s m e s s a g e i s t h a t , b y p a i ri rin g w i t h t h o s e w it h t h e t e c h n i c a l n o w - h o w , t h e m o b ili l e m a r ke ke t a f fo fo r d s a r t isis t s t h e c h a n c e t o b r in i n g t h e i r vi vi s i o n s t o l ifif e w i t h o u t t h e
s c h o o l g a m e r s o n W in d o w s ,
b a c i n g o f b ig ig b u d g e t s . I t ’s’s n o w m u c h
M a c a n d t a bl b l e t s ,” ,” S p i d e r w e b
e a s i e r t o h a ve v e o u r c o n t e n t p u b lili s h e d a n d
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f o u n d e r J e f f V o g e l s ay ay s . H e
r e c o g n i s e d ,” ,” C h a r le l e s c o n c l u d e s , e ve ve n
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s e e h i s b ig ig g e s t c h a lll l e n g e a s
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ith more than 0 mill millio ion n registered players, there are few collectible card games as big as Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. In keeping with Blizzard’s video game roots, roots, Hearthstone is a digital card game, but that doesn’t mean the art work is overlooked. overlooked. Far from it. As ar t director Ben Thompson testifies, the ar t is the cornerstone of the series. It was helpful that we had a physical trading card game at Blizza rd before work began began on Hearthstone,” Hearthstone,” says Ben. It helped establish establish the art from early on. It helped set the tone and build on the World of Warcraft IP.” When Hearthstone began, the team was a mere seven staff – a small small studio, and particularly small for Blizzard. In fact, Ben was the first ar tist hired, and the scale of team helped. It meant t he team could draw on the resources inside Blizzard and, as Ben says, “ you’ll see a lot of recognisable artists creating t hose early cards, people like Sam Didier and Luke Mancini.” Key to developing the Hearthstone art style was to tap into what artist s love, Ben explains: “ We never approached approached game development from a perspective of what would be popular, we always approach approach games from a perspective of what will we ourselves want to play play or spend hours and hours
4 Fantasy Card Artist
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creating art for. Hearthstone as it is today is – and we hope w ill continue to be – the kind of game that the artists have as much fu n working on and developing as people do playing it. And as long as decisions are made from that perspec tive, we’re all going to have fun. We’re grateful grateful for t he success it’s had.” So what card art does Ben get excited about? “ I’m always going to to be interested in cards t hat provide a visual wow factor,” factor,” says the artist. “ For players, I think they always get excited when they see something something happen, something like Twisting Nether – when it’s played in the virtual space, you get to see pieces of the card get pulled away into this mega void. That’s a very pulseracing moment for players.
GREA GR EATCARD ART Because it’s a digital card game, the artists on Heart hstone need to think slightly differently about what makes great card art, as t hese are interactive, animated cards that need to function on different different levels. levels. Ben Ben is clear that that 7 per cent of the time Hearthstone card art needs to look good in the game space, “ whether it’s a character a weapon or whatever, how it looks in the play space is the first and last most important thi ng because that’s going to affect gameplay. With that said,” said,” adds Ben, Ben, “ people people are going to get invested in these c ards and collect them. They’ ll want to put them into their virtual collection
ST LECOU CIL H e a r t h s t o n e ’s’s c h a r a c t e r s were developed developed by a sma ll team of Blizzard a rtists, who were familiar with the W o r l d o f W a r c r a f t s t y l e. e.
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Feature manager, so you need to make sure that card looks good. It needs to look good as a piece of art when it’s larger.” When ta lking ab out creat ing card ca rd art in in general, Ben says you should make sure t he art is readable at both a small and la rger size, present the character properly, and get across their story i n the piece – it’s about being economical with the details. “When talking specifically about Hearthstone art of all those things, the most elusive thing that we need artists to grasp is t he stylistic dif ferences between World of Warcraft Warcraft and Hearthstone,” says Ben. “ World of Warcraft builds on the epic, it builds on the great, a nd features over-the-top scale and proportions. For Hearthstone we want to be about 20 degrees off of that. We don’t want to be untrue to the foundations of World of Warcraf t, but we want to celebrat e it in a unique and d ifferent iffe rent way. We celebrate that c harming har ming,, that lig hthearted appeal that makes World of Warcraft… just a lot of fun for players.”
GETI TINTHEGAME If you want to get into creating card ar t, then it’s interesting, and a little surprising, to fi nd out what art directors like Ben look for. The commissioning process, for ex ample, isn’t as rigid as you may think. “I’ve been very conscious of that, having done a lot of card art myself, so I tr y to figure out a way to create descriptions that are evocative and descriptive to help the artist meet expec tations but not too much, as we want the art ist to have fun working on this art,” ex plains Ben. “That said, it does
The The most ost elus elusiv ivee thing thing that that we need artists to grasp grasp is the stylistic stylistic differences differences between World orld of War Warcraft craft and and Hearthsto earthstone need to fit into the world of Hearth stone as a whole. It’s an iterative process. Oftent imes we’ll be b e asking a rti sts to e xper iment wit h a style that’s not their own but fit s into the World of Warcraft style. There is room to experiment and try new thi ngs.” Don’t be put off if your natu ral style doesn’t fit into the Hearthstone look. Ben actively loves testing new artist s to see what they come back with, with , and readi ly says t hey have ar tist s from all sectors creating cards, from concept artists to 3D modellers. And don’t think you ne ed to be a fan of Hearthstone, either: as Ben explains, “The person who hasn’t had a lot of interaction with World of Warcraft is probably the one person who’s most likely to turn in something surprising because they don’t have so many preconceptions. So we’re very careful not to discount that artist who, as you say, doesn’t have that passion or familiarity with World of Wa rcraf rcr aft. t. It c an be more m ore fun f un to s ee what t hey come c ome up with w ith a nd guide t hem, offe r them some feedback that will keep t hem in line with what wh at players w ill like.” lik e.”
DEVELOPIIN NGAC ACARD Art for cards must be functional but also b ea ea u t i f u l . P l a y e r s m u s t w a n t t o o w n a n d collect the cards. It’s a knife-edge the H e a r t h s t o n e t e a m l i ve ve o n .
TRYSOMETHINGNEW It began as an ape on a horse, but H earth stone’s stone’s 20-degree slant f r o m W o r l d of of W a r c a f t n e ed ed e d somethin g more fun – a hippo replaced the horse!
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Art: Laurel D. D. Austin Austin TH THE ART ART OF
LAUREL D. AUS USTT W e c a t c h u p w it h t h e C a n a d ia n - o r n c o n c e p t a r ti t is t a n d ill u s t r a t o r w h o ’s p u t t in in g t h e b u zz z z i n t o B li a r d E n t e r t a in in m e n t ’s’s ill u s t r i o u s g a m in g o u t p u t
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G a m e art ar t is a lo t les s r e s trict rictiive th a n o th e r a r e as a s . T h e re r e ’s’s m o r e ro r o o m to p l ay ay a r o u n d a n d d o fu n th t h in g s
ow senior illustrator at Blizzard Entertainment, Laurel D. D. Austin muses: “ I was, perhap perhapss like like some some of the readers out there, the weird arty kid in my class.” class.” Weird or otherwise, her dynamic, energetic style has served her well, winning her commissions working on big-name trading card series and numerous blockbuster games titles. It has seen her grow from small-town Canadian bedroom artist to becoming one of the leading concept illustrators in the video games industry. I was definitely definitely an arty kid,” says Lauren. To the exclusion of a lot else, I think! I was lucky that my parents were very encouraging. I loved drawing, and they always made sure I had reams of paper and buckets of crayons, pencils and markers at my disposal. I was interested in a few subjects from an early age – animals of all sorts, especially dinosaurs, mythical creatures and the worlds worlds they lived lived in. in. My pare parents nts told told me me they knew I’d be either an artist or a scientist.” Science’s loss is the concept art world’s gain, though, and after a multidisciplinary art course at NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Canada, Lauren embarked upon a career in the games industry with the London-based Splash Damage (creators of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Enemy Territ Territory: ory: uake uake Wars, Wars, Dirty Bomb Bomb and and more). more). Lauren was eventually let loose on the studio’s first original title, BRINK. Under the stewardship of art director Olivier Leonardi, she f lourished: It was a small team, but full of great great talent,” she recalls. “ I learned a lot from artists like Georgi Simeonov and Tim A Appleby ppleby.. I w as incredibly
Fantasy Card Artist
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S e e i n g w h a t p r o a r ti t i s ts t s w e r e p o s t in in g o n l i n e , w h a t c a r e e r s w e r e p o s s i b le le a n d w h a t w o r ki ki n g t o a p r o f e s s i o n a l standard m eant,gave me a clear t a r g e t t o h it it a n d s h o w e d m e the resources I need ed.”
LORDSOFWAR: DUROTAN “T he ostenjoyab epi epiode ode orm or on. he ays.“Ilove om olves A nd he adds:“Ican’th el but eelm or connec ed D urotan asa characterafterdraw ng hi uch.Fu nn how hat happens,real ealy. y.
SIGVARDTHEVIC ICTORIO IOUS A characterconceptL aurel created or he onl onlne ne G am A rt tA cadem y.
LORDSOFWAR: GROM MARS RSH ne ofL aurelsconcept an ation piece of G om ar h H el eam he egenda ryW or d of arcraftcha racter
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lucky to have my first few years in t he industry at suc h a unique studio.”
MORE ET THANAGAME Video game art seems like a calling to Laurel, and her passion for the broad imagination and creativity required to create whole worlds of believable characters and environments is evident when she talks about the nature of the work. This isn’t an artist who’s simply treading water. Gaming development and art is her lifeblood, it seems. “Since video games are such a young medium, the art surrounding them seems a lot less restrictive than ot her areas of entertainment,” Laurel explains. “T here’s just more room to play around and do things that are fun. “The way I look at it, the art for video games does three basic jobs. The art is certainly not the only aspect that can tell the game’s story, but it’s the medium that does the lion’s share of the job of communicating mood and background to the players. In games like Portal and BioShock, you actually get tableaus in
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Fantasy Card Artist
the environments that describe events in the game – words sc rawled on walls, and bloody trails leading to locked doors, for example – fleshing out the story and hinting that things may not be what they seem. The best examples of this are when the writers and artist s work together to make truly engaging stories. Separately, it never works as well. “The second aspect is in enabling the gameplay. gameplay. Art Ar t can have a real impact on how fun a game is to play. play. It’s frust rating when icons icons aren’t large or clear enough, or important objects blend into the environment too much, or you just can’t tell where to go next because there’s no environmental cues to g uide you along. Like the story, this is achieved best when designers and artists are working very closely together to get the best results.”
THEARTIST’SJO B “Finally, art sells the game. The first moment anybody sees any media about a game, the thing thi ng we’re most likely to respond to is the art style. If we like the art style, st yle, we’re more more likely to investigate
LAUREL D. AUSTIN
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TH ED RAGO N’S ’SIINTH ED ETAIL L au rel’ rel’ss sculptures are highly detailed, as the scales o n t h i s m o d e l o f S m a u g s h o w . I t w a s c r e a t e d fo fo r G a l l e r y N u c l e u s ’s’s 2 0 1 3 O u t o f t h e S h i r e s h o w .
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B e i n g a t a n i n t e r d i s c i p l in i n a r y s c h o o l h e lp lp e d m e i m p r o ve v e m y fi g u r e d r a w i n g s ki k i l ls ls , a n d t h e a b s o l u t e ly l y s t e ll ll a r a n a t o m y c l a s s e s m e a n t I u n d e r s t o o d t h e u n d e r ly ly i n g s t r u c t u r e s i n t h e h u m a n b o d y . I c a n s t ili l l n a m e o b s c u re m u s c le g r o u p s as a pa rty trick.
THELEAGUEOFEXPLORERS T hisisa n advert ng piec created or ear hstone,H eroesof arc aft– anotherarea that L aureloverseesat zzard.
E B U Z Z A T Laurel on being being the driving driving force be hi hind nd Bli Blizza rd’ rd’ss conc ept a rt… B l iziz z a r d E n t e r ta t a in in m e n t h a s b e e n r o c k in in g t h e w o r ld ld o f g a m in g s in c e 1 9 1 , p r o d u c in i n g h it it s in c l u d in in g T h e L o s t V ik in in g s a n d th t h e D ia b l o a n d S t a r C r a ft ft s e r ieie s . S o w h a t ’s’s t h e b e s t t h in in g a b o u t b e in g s e n ioio r ilil l u s t ra r a to to r th th e r e ? “ T h e g r e a t p e o p l e I w o r k w it h ,” ,” L a u r e n s a y s . “T h e e n tire c re a tiv e d e v e lo p m e n t d e p a r tm tm e n t a r e e x c e p t ioio n a l lyly s k i llll e d a r ti tis t s a n d s t o r y t e l lele r s , a n d w o r k in in g a lol o n g s id e t h e m h a s m a d e m e a b e t te t e r a r titis t . I c a n ’ t e m p h a s i s e e n o u g h h o w im p o r ta n t it is to g e t o u t o f y o u r o w n h e a d a n d s p e n d t im e w it h o t h e r ar a r ti tis t s y o u re s p e c t. G e tt in g th e ir fe e d b a c k w ill h e lp y o u b e c o m e a b e tt e r a r tis t. “A t B l iziz z a r d I g e t toto w o r k o n a lll l o f th th e I P s , w h ic ic h p r o v id i d e s a to to n o f in te t e r e s t in g c h a lll l e n g e s a n d v a ri r ie t y . M o s t o f m y w o r k isis f o c u s e d o n m a k in in g s u p p o r ti tin g s t o r y ar a r t fo r t h e g a m e s , a n d l e a r n in in g m o r e a b o u t v isis u a l s t o r y te te l lil in g is o n e o f t h e b ig g e s t p e r k s to t o b e in i n g h e r e .” .”
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Fantasy Card Artist
Art: Laurel D. D. Austin Austin
ANTEL ANT ELOP OPE RIDER A n e w c o n c e p t p i ec ec e f r o m L a u r e l . E ve ve n h e r rougher painting style captures the drama and movement in the scene.
more. This is true not only with the public, but also internally with the other developers on your team. team. As artists, artists, it’s our job to inspir inspiree our teams with how insanely cool the game we’re making together is going to be. Giving Giv ing people the warm fuzzes and getting getting them to say ‘Holy ‘Holy crap, crap, that is awesome! ’ goes a long way.” And with Laurel’ Laurel’ss art and the games games which it drives, there are are a heck of of a lot lot of of “ holy crap… moments. Take Hearthstone, for example, which on the face of it is an online turn-based card game from Blizzard. Where it differs from most online card games is its depth of characters and classes of hero. Each character is much more than the traditional warlock or warrior, being given fantastical names like Garrosh Hellscream and Magni Bronzebeard, complete with detailed backstories and oddball character traits. These enable Laurel to draw upon each character’s traits and histories, and create figures with far more
T h e r e isis a to n o f d e c isi s io i o n s to m a k e , b u t a l w a y s th th in k a b o u t w h at y o u w a n t y o u r v ie i e w e r s to to fe e l
depth of character than traditional online games. In terms of artistic style and techniq techniq ue, it’s it’s these fictional personalities that Laurel begins with when working working up a new piece. piece. When I’m I’m startin starting g an illustration the right way – which, being by nature somewhat impatient, I don’t always do – I start by thinking what the point of the painting is. I view illustration as communicating a story of some sort: a big one or a small one, or a little piece that hints at something larger, or the climactic moment of a great great epic,” Laurel L aurel says.
SEEKI SEEKING THE THE STORY ST ORY And this story story is is key, key, she believes: believes: Whatever Whatever it is, you have to decide what your story moment is, and then figure out what’s the best way to communicate it. A lot of considerations go into this, like angle of view, aspect ratio, character pose, lighting, and colour. There is always a ton of decisions to make, but always keep at the f ront of your mind what you want your viewers to feel. Do they identify with the c haracters? Which ones? Do they pity them? Do they feel empathic? Are they frighte frightened ned for for them? Frighte Frightened ned them? And every choice you make, make it it in the service of that goal.” Laurel’s creative process has a strong sense of empathy about it. it. “ I tend to start with black-and white, white, workin working g out the basics basics of the compos compositi ition. on.
What’ What’s the feelin feeling, g, what what are the characte characters rs doing doing,, what what are their their faces faces doing doing,, and only only then then go into into colour,” colour,” she reveals. “ If I can get it working at the stage, the rest of the process is just expanding upon the idea and making sure to preserve what was nice about the sketch – which doesn’t always happen. Sometimes it may take more than one attempt to capture in a final fin al piece what you liked about a sketch. It can be pretty frustrating when a piece just isn’t working, but sometimes it takes a fresh start to really nail na il what you liked about a sketch.” Where Where does does she she think she’ she’ss manage managed d to nail it? Asked Asked what what are her own favouri favourite te pieces pieces,, Laurel Laurel replies: “ I’ll count as a favourite any piece where I’ve managed to have an effect on a viewer – to tell them a story and make them feel what I hoped they’d they’ d feel. That’ll always rank high in my books.” For illustration and concept art Laurel almost always uses Photoshop with a Cintiq . But she uses physical media in her process too. “ When I sculpt, I generally use Super Sculpey Firm [modelling clay] and acrylic paint, though I’ve been meaning to try out sculpting wax. I keep a sketchbook with me to do pen drawing, though it never seems like I have enough time to do that much these days – usually just small drawings of animals or dinosaurs I toss on my Instagram. Overall, I much prefer to work digitally. Ctrl-Z is the best t hing to happen to art since since the brush was invented!”
Fantasy Card Artist
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Pursue your passion!
HEL TheCRO OZ art style, style, particularly for D eity W ars, is a rich and distinctive m i x o f c ol ol o u r and detail.
SVAROG E e n w h e n d e p i c t in in g d a r k fi g u re re s, s, C R O O Z ’s artists man age to create a beautiful design.
P U R S U E Y O U R S I
CROOZ is an expanding ex panding Japanese Japanese online games company and it’s on the hunt for great artists, so portfolios at the ready…
DARK ARTIM ARTIMA C an you paint cha racters li e t h o se se of of C R O O Z ’s a r t t e a m
ASTERIA D eity W ars features some striking striking an ime-styl ime-stylee cha racter designs.
ith an enviable track record in Japan and ambitions to spread its distinctive brand of artwork-driven social gaming to every corner of the globe, CROOZ is hungry for fresh illustrators. With headquarters in Tokyo, Tokyo, CROOZ has a branch office in San Francisco for marketing activities focused on North America, but of course it makes use of contributing artist s based just about anywhere around t he world. Since entering the social games market in 2010, 2010, the company has roc keted into t he top three games developers on Japanese platform Mobage, boasting more than 20 million registered users. But its sights are firmly set on the number one spot, and you could help it achieve that goal. CROOZ’s most popular game is Ragnabreak, which is better known to players outside Japan
Fantasy Card Artist
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Feature
ARTCLASSES E ach characterisdes erisd esgn gned ed tofit to fit a class uch as an archer,pries ,w zard,kn ght or an cer.A lthe detai sin the art ork have contribute he story
as Deity Wars. With more tha n 3.6 million players across t he globe, it’s renowned for the superb quality of its original artwork. The game’s art director Daisuke looks for a broad range of skills to ensure that everything from the emotions on a character ’s face to the overall world of the game is just right. And with overseas expansion plans high up CROOZ’s agenda, his selection cr iteria for new artists include broad global appeal. “Characters such as Succubus and Pharaoh are good examples of characte rs popular worldwide,” he says. “However,” he continues, “the Japanese anime-style is als o very popular, so we’re looking for illustrators that can adopt the good points of Japanese style, too.” In addition to individual art style, Daisuke explains that the fundamental skills of drawing anatomy, realistic clothing and accessories are
PHARAOH D ei arsfeaturesa n aginary or h thre paces– eaven,E arth and el – an d loads ofgreatcha ofgreatcharact racters,l s,lke ke Ph araoh.
all crucial to make it in this field generally, and to catch his eye in particular. Deity Wars is set in t he three spaces of Heaven, Hell and Earth – separate dimensions that are colliding. Players collect character cards, discover new powers and battle for supremacy. Where
Players must Play feel th they ey want to evol olv ve the card to the th e next stage, so we alwa al way ys create attractiv attracti ve level ellled ed-up versions
DAMIEN apanesean e- yl artispopu ar around he or d,so R Z i ooking or ustratorsw ho can adopt ad opt hisstyl nto tsart process.
some games put considerably more creative energy into a game’s rarer cards , for CROOZ quality and attention to detail is paramount across the board – again putt ing the onus on a consistently strong roster of talent. Each character has several iterations to be developed. “Cards in Deity Wars evolve by four steps, and have three extra ‘levelled up’ versions in addition to the original one,” says Daisuke. “We must make players feel they want to evolve the card to the nex t stage, so we always make the effort to c reate attractive levelled-up versions.”
ARTHURIANLEGENDS Another illustration-heav y game in CROOZ’s growing catalogue is Knights of Avalon, an original browser-based fantasy RPG based on the classic Arthurian legend. “As one of Arthur’s knights, players fight against the notorious traitor Mordred on the f loating continent Avalon,”
A N D R O M E D A I lll l u s t r a t o r : M i r e i K o b a y a s h i A n ill illust ust rato r on CROOZ’ss succ ess ful CROOZ’ Deity Dei ty Wa rs soc ial roleroleplaying playin g g ame , Mi Mirei Kobayashi shares shares her card art process process
I b e g in in b y e x a m in in g th e b r ieie f an a n d d e c id i d in in g o n w h a t t o c r e a te te . I w a n te te d to t o d r aw aw a fe m a l e c h a r a c te r w e a r in in g a b e a u t ifif u l p ie c e o f c lo th in g in a s e a o f s t a rs rs .
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Fantasy Card Artist
it h m y id i d e a d e v e l o p in g , n o w is t h e ti t im e w h e n th th e s h a p e s o f t h e c h a r a c te r ’s b o d y , h a ir, c o s tu m e a n d a ll o t h e r o b e c t s in in th t h e il lu lu s t r a ti tio n a r e f in in a l isis e d .
o w I m u s t p la n fo r h o w th e a r t w ill lo o k w h e n it it’s’s a c a rd r d . S o I z o o m o u t a b it it s o th a t t h e r e ’s m o r e s p a c e fo r th e c h a r a c te r w h e n I fit it in to th e c a r d fr a m e .
Pursue Pu rsue your passion! passion! BACKGROU D ART G r e a t c a r d a r t n e e d s to to t e l l a s t o r y in one image, so a rich background can be ust as im portan t as a chara cter’s expression. expression.
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Fantasy Card Artist
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us through the creation of a piece of card art for Deity Deity Wa rs… I sta rt by sketching my idea s. In In this this s tag e I think ab out t he composition and all of the aspec aspec ts req ui uired red in the c haracter illustra il lustra tion. I like like to create a number of sketches to w ork through my ideas , before c hoosi hoosing ng one to take through to the final artw ork.
I start draw ing base d on the most attractive of the sketches shown in the first ste p. This This is the m ost cruc ial step be ca use the imag imag e I have here directly links to the final art.
S U C C U B U S C hara haract cters ers such as Succubus, show n here, are are good examples of charact characters ers wh o are pop ular wo rldw ide w it ithh fans fans of C R O O Z ’s D e itity W a rsrs .
I look at the balance of the w hol holee ill llust ust ration. I make sure that the shape of the c haracter’s body looks fine fi ne and there’s no unnatural spac e in the illustration.
HE LIO S The D eit eityy W ars art art car cards ds have w ellbalanced prop o rti rtioo ns that, that, says D aisuke, Japanese Japanese p eo p le w o u ld re co gn is e a s b ea u tiful an d co o l ca rd s .
I finish by adding precise details and effec ts, and making making the character blend into the background by a djusti djusting ng the colour of li light a nd the usage of space.
Fantasy Card Artist
W he n a dd ing de c ora tion s an d effec ts, I make sure the characte r doesn’t become obscured by these vis ua l enh an c e me nt s . Not ic e tha t t he broken sword has been repaired.
explains game director Max. Like Deity Wars, the game is available available on Mobage. Over a million people subscribed in the first five months, putting Knight s of Avalon in the top 10 on the platform. Beautiful fantasy art remains at the core of Knights of Avalon, where players form a team and enjoy real-time battles – and CROOZ has plans to add many more characters a nd features to the game, so there are plenty of opportun ities for talented artists to get involved. A medieval realm of swords, shields and suits of armour brings a different set of challenges compared with Deity Wars. Jun is the art director overseeing the game and, like Daisuke, he stresses t he importance of great artwork: “Creating a large variety of characters that attract players’ hearts is our mission,” he smiles. “It’s up to the player whether he or she chooses a brave, courageous looking character or one with a more bewitching look,” adds Jun,
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CROOZ intends to expand Avalon’ Avalon’s charact character er roster roster,, featu features res and in-game elements and needs new artists to take on the illustrations. Will you be one?
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or a moment, at the ta tail il end of 2012, it looked like Applibot was taking over t he world of online digital art. Every striking fantasy character and sci-fi action scene posted online seemed to bear the mark of Galaxy Saga or Legend of the Cryptids – the two app card games that Applibot offers for free download. There’s more more to the Japanese Japanese compa company ny than a big big wallet, wallet, though. Art director Shogo Takeda is adamant that art was the company’s starting point, and this bears scrutiny. Download the Legends of the Cryptids, and the opening animation features beautifully crafted pieces of art in lavish gold frames. “Our goal was to create a game with the highest-level artwork, so we got the top artists from around the world,” says Shogo simply. He also knew well enough to trust the talent: “Our briefs were kept simple, rarely more than a name and a one-line description.” Behind this th is open approach was a simple fact: Applibot’s sudden, blanket commissioning around the world sped up output, helping it in the “race to the then-unt apped global market for Japanese-style social c ard battle games,” says Shogo. The plan worked. worked. It It hit number one in Japan’ Japan’s app app store store top sellers list, and number two in the US. Since then, Shogo admits, it’s not been easy to sustain t he momentum. “Similar services have come out in the meantime that are earning 10 billion yen monthly. monthly. The fact that our earnings ea rnings have not kept pace has been disappointi ng.” However, with undisclosed plans for new projects, and more art to be released for the e xisting games, Applibot may yet regain the top top spot. spot. Until Until that’s that’s resolved, resolved, we still have have all all this amazing art to enjoy!
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t w o c a r d s w e r e d o n e s im i m u lt lt a n e o u s l y , h e s a y s . T h e y w e r e N i m b u s M a ze ze a n d P a c t o f N e g a t io io n i n t h e F u t u r e S i g h t e x p a n s i o n in i n 2 0 0 7 . ”T ” T h e a r t is is t w a s 2 4 y e a r s o l d . I d e f in in i t e ly ly t h i n k t h a t m y w o r k h a s c h a n g e d s in in c e t h e n , s a y s J a s o n . “M “M y w o r ki ki n g p r o c e s s i s c o m p l e t e ly l y d i f f e re r e n t , f o r o n e . I ’m ’m m y o w n w o r s t c r i ti t i c , s o I ’m ’m a l w a y s t r y i n g t o im i m p r o v e m y w o r k. k.
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and the following set should be at the ar t assignment stage.”
MAKI G MAGI AGIC C Creating artwork for Magic is tricky. You’re tasked with conveying a character, a skill, or perhaps an evocative environment. And that art will then be shrunk to cover a fraction of a playing card. Yet people like John Stanko, Donato Giancola and Scott M. Fischer jump at the chance of a Magic commission. What’s the process? process? “It’s “It’s a secret,” says Jason Chan, a Magic player since high school. “A very well-planned secret.” Proceedings are
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a n d d i g i ta ta l m e d iu m s , a n d I ’ e g o t m y f a vo vo u r itit e s in in b o t h m e d iu m s . In t r a d it i t io io n a l I’I’d g o f o r M e g a t o g g o o d c o m e d y v a lu lu e ), ), w h i l e in in d i g i t a l i t ’d ’d b e L y s A l a n a H u n t c a l le le r , b e c a u s e I w e n t t o t o w n o n t h e t e xt xt u r e s f o r t h a t . I u s e d C o r e l P a in i n t e r w a t e r c o l o u r l a y e r s to to c r e a t e s t ip i p p l i n g t o s im i m u l a te te m o t e s o f g o l d e n l ig ig h t i n a m a g i c a l fo fo r e s t .
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fittingly clandestine. The art ist receives an email with the image description. “This is what a lot of fans fan s don’t seem to know. I don’t know a thing about what a card actually does until I see the finished thing,” he says. In fact, the names of characters usually change before they’re printed. “This prevents me, or anyone snooping through my studio, from getting any real information on the game,” he says. This may sound paranoid, but you have to remember that this is a multi-milliondollar franchise, and Magic – or its parent company Wizards of the Coast – doesn’t want to give the competitio competition n an inch. inch.
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For Brad, a Magic commission is a cha nce to embody not the card character, but the card player: “I ask myself, who would play this card and why? What is the fantasy? I get into character with it, try to place myself in the gamer’s head and tap into the fant asy. Really the only bridge there – regardless of play style – is the art.” ar t.”
Magic wouldn’t wouldn’t have been nearly the success it’s become without the art Surprisingly,, the importance of art Surprisingly in the game is a topic that splits artist opinion, and changes depending on the era you’re talking about. Anthony S. Waters has worked on Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons and Magic since 1997, and he’s clear on the point. “Magic wouldn’t have been nearly nearly the success it’s become without the art, but that said, said, the mechanics are distinct from the art. You don’t need the art to play the game.”
HA A, SHIP SHIP’’ S A IG IGA ATOR T eres N el elen en re urns a charac er,H ann a,that she’ pa ted before,this h the aim of aking her appeal appealng. ng. ob don
TO TH THE VI V ICTOR, THE SP OI OILS LS The game game today today,, like like the artwork, has has changed fundamentally since 1993. The first winner of a Magic Pro Tour got a trophy and a handshake. Today they’ll
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T it le : F l F le s h F o F o il C o lo u r : No ne ( a r t t e f a c t c t ) L o c a c a t io n: Y o ur c r c h ho ic e c e A c A c t io n: W e W e s e e a
A n o t h e r c a r d , a n o t h e r s t yl yl e : S t e p h a n M a r t i n i èr èr e sw sw a p s sci-fi scifi land scapes for this hellish fanta sy vision. vision.
I then then dra w on top of this this w ith trac ing 2 pap er pa rchment, adding add iti tional onal des ig n eleme eleme nts. This This sketc h is is then submitted to the art director for ap proval.
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while always always existing in the left field of traditional fantasy art. It’s a flavour that has even sustained the massive streamlining of its look and feel in 1997. “We’ve had eight or nine distinct settings for Magic since art director Jeremy Cranford began pushing for every set to represent a standalone sta ndalone world in 1997,” 1997,” says Anthony. Digital artwork changed things, too. “I’d say that it’s put the art on steroids,” says Brad. Quicker turnarounds meant more commissions, and more money made to pay the increasingly sought-after art superstars.
Magic: Magic: T h e G ath e rin rin g ANCIENT HELLKITE ason C han :“W zards has reeas re eased other de productslike novelsa nd video gam es but he cor ofthe I P sst lthe car gam e.T hat lal ayshold rue. E very hing elseisicing on he cake.
S e eo e – a ect s an d a few aga eu eo H o w e v e r,r , th th e 1 9 7 s h a k e -u -u p n e a rlrl y n i p p e d t h i s d ig ig it ita l b o o s t i n th th e b u d . “ B ac ac k th e n th e re w as a m e e tin g to d is c u s s s o m e fin is h e d p ai ainn tin g s fo r S tro n g h o ld th at h ad b ee n created created digit digitally,” rev rev eals P ete. “So m e p e o p le – art a rt d ire c to rs , cr e ativ e d ire c to rs an d a few few h ighe r-ups – w ere de ad set aga against inst the us e o f digit digital art in Magic. The y felt that the ga m e b e n e fitte d fro f ro m trad itio n al m e d ia a n d th th a t d i g itita l w o r k s b e l o n g e d i n g a m e s l ik ik e N e tr tr u n n e r . H o w ti m e s h a v e c h a n g e d ! ”
DIGITAL UPS AND DOWNS o w a d ay ay s , m a n y a c c u s e d i g itita l o f re re d u c i n g th e d iv e rs ity o f Ma g ic art. a rt. W h e re it initia in itiall l y m e a n t m o r e m o n e y f o r ar ar titis t s , it s e e m s th in g s h av e g o n e f u l l c irc le . “ Th e d o w n s id e o f digi digittal isis that ev eryo ne think s that do ing digittal art digi art is easy, so the p ay has go ne d o w n , th th e d e a d l in in e s h a v e s h o r tete n e d a n d
ect s creat ve er s – er alarti al artin ag th e n itp ic k in g h as go n e w ay ay,, w a y u p ,” s a y s B riria n D e s p a in in . A n d th e u p s i d e ? “ D ig it ita l a lll l o w e d a n e w w a v e o f tal e n te d a rti rtiss ts to e m e rg e ,” s ay s S te p h an , “to e xp lo re d iffe re n t te c h n iq u e s an d b ririnn g a n e w ric h n e s s to th e g am e .” A n d , as far as a s th e a rti rtiss t w h o ’s s o id e n tifie d w ith v is io n s o f th e f u tu re c an fo re s e e , d ig igital ital w il l p l ay a p ar t in th e s to r y o f M a gi gic fofo r s o m e tim e to c o m e . “ I c an an i m a g in in e t h e c a rd rd s b e c o m i n g m o r e i n tete r ac ac ti tiv e o n l i n e w ith 3 D , s o u n d a n d animatioo n added to it animati it,,” o ff ffers ers S tep h an. “ I c an an a l s o im a g in in e h o l o g r ap ap h i c c ar ard s a little lit tle bit furthe r in in the future: the the sc en e w o u l d c o m e to to l if ife a n d e v e n i n tete r ac a c t w i th th e o p p o n e n t’s c ar ardd s im il ar to th e S tar W ar s h o l o - c h e s s … I w o n d e r i f th e p l ay a y e rsrs w o u l d n e e d p a p e r c ar ar d s w ith th th a t te c h n o l o g y ? ”
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Fanta antass y C ar ardd A rt rtist ist
Interview
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Art: An Anth tho ony S. Waters TH T HE AR ART T OF
ANTHONY S. WATERS A n im i m a g e s h o u ld l d d o m o r e t h a n t e lll l y o u w h a t a m o n s t e r l o o s lil i e . I t s h o u lldd f o r g e a g u t c o n n e c t io n w it h t h e s u b je c t .” .” D is c o e r tthh e v is c e r a l s t y le o f M r W a t e r s …
F
inding a path to fantasy art takes many forms. Anthony’s was a gradual gradual transi transition, tion, and probably a route familiar to many. “ I remember it being a steady progression from wildlife art to to sharks sharks,, to to dinosaurs, to dragons,” dragons,” he says. “ It’s not not such a big leap from dinos to dragons, I suppose, nor sharks to dinos.” It’s almost a logical progression, but the catalyst was fear. “ My interest in sharks was kindled by the fi lm Jaws, which traumatised the living daylights out of of me,” Anthony explains. Exploring his reaction, Anthony reached for pen and paper, and sharks have been battling this smear on their character
. C L L s e m a G y t i C n e d d i H
SKIN ST STR “H ere’ sa pieceI did for H dden C G am es explains A nthony.“I as asked to envi on w hat a spelt spe lthat stripped you to he bon ou d look lke. l ke.
ever since. “Maybe “ Maybe drawing about sharks helped me to chew up some of that fear.” Dungeons Dragons happened next, introducing Anthony to the work of Errol Morris and Jeff Easley ( which, he says, had a particular infl infl uence on on him) and Frank Frank Frazetta. “ Frank led me to Pyle, Wyeth, Wrightson, Wrigh tson, Parris Parrish h and and Kaluta. Kaluta. A whole whole world worl d of of possib possibiliti ilities es was open opened ed to to me.” me.”
ART ST
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While the evol evolutio ution n of of a fantas fantasyy artist artist can be traced easily enough, enough, Anthony fi nds the original creative impulse is harder to pin down, and admits t hat he’s unable unable to point to any one moment of his life when he decided that he wanted to be an artist. There’s Ther e’s some indica indication tion of an early early tendency to make use of crayons, but Anthony plays the modesty card by suggesting his artistic talent simply fi lls a void: void: “ It’s a good thing I’m able to make a living as an artist, since I stink at most other stuff!” The most other stuff” that peop people le are so often obsessed with is very of ten what they’ve been conditioned to want. On the other hand hand fantasy, fantasy, by defi nitio nition, n, req uires an exercise of the imagination. As A nthony puts it: “A n image should do more more than tell the viewer ‘This ‘Th is is what a monster looks like’. It should forge some form of gut connection with the subject.”
BACK AND FORTH So Anthony spent most of his c hildhood learning how to draw, attending the odd class here and there. His family moved around a lot when he was young, so teachers weren’t always easy to come by,
THE ART A RT ST C onceptual des desgner gner or video gam esan d ust ustat ator or W otC sM agic:the G athering card gam es,A nthony S cottW atersi an autograph hun er’ sfavouri at atconventi convention
Fantasy Card Artist
Interview
. c n I , t s a o C e h t f o s d r a i W
M ST STA ATIO W zards ofthe C oastisjustone ofm any el know n com paniesthat can callA nthony a contributor.T hisis“an om hat er eresoffi esoffi ve environm entpiecesI did forW zards ofthe C oas aysA nthony
and the connection was forged directly between artist and medium. “I love drawing with pencil or pen,” says Anthony.. “That’s usually the way Anthony way I start, by noodling around until I get a solid idea and a good composition.” The rough gets scanned, resized and printed, then: “I do a quick trace-off from that rough, and then work up a nice tight underdrawing to work from.” This becomes the basis of a painting. The process process is interesting for for the way it moves back-and-forth back-and-forth between digital and analog. In a similar way to squinting, or closing one eye repeatedly, it serves to develop a balanced picture of your subject, adding poise to the final image. “Poise is
age
his art at college. “I had a pair of amazing art teachers, one of whom, Paul Sparks, taught me as much about about writing as ar t, and I grew a great deal during that time.” It wasn’t until later that Anthony began attending art schools: “Looking back on it, I’d recommend searching out a good art college if art’s what you want to make a living from.”
SECRETAMBI BIT TIO S When Anthony is not not busy providing providing visual magicianship for the likes of WotC, Lucasfilm and EA, there’s a hint of plans afoot, although he remains pretty cagey: “I try to hold most of my personal goals close
ARTI FOCU S at
I try to hold my personal goals close to my chest; if you talk about it too much yo y ou ofte ften n en end d up not doin ing g it at al alll one of those qualities you may acquire as you go go along,” along,” agrees Anthony, “but it’s it’s a harder thing to seek out as a hallmark.”
EMOTIO AL LEV EL What really counts is storytelling. “It’s a key issue in my approach,” says Anthony. “Artists are visual story tellers.” A painting, he believes, belie ves, should be more than the sum of its technically accomplished parts. “You should be left wondering what just happened, or what’s about to happen.” To generate this reaction the artist needs narrative skills. “When I’m doing more than straight concept work (for a client or myself) I aim to create an image that engages on some emotional level,” says Anthony. He developed his own nar rative skills alongside
Fantasy Card Artist
to my chest; if you talk about a thing too much, you often end up not doing it at all.” That’s understandable, although most most people find it difficult to hold a poker face for too long. Anthony is adamant, however. “It’s better to set a schedule and start babbling when you hav havee som something ething to sho show, w,”” he he insis insists. ts. Eventually, though, he relents a little. “I’ll provide a teaser. I’ve got two projects in the works that’ll end up in book form. form.”” Anthony Anthony S. Waters – novelist, screenwriter, director? “I’m busy at work on the first two!”
ST LE I CHEC ECK K In the search for narrative, Anthony believes that style cannot be allowed to r ule over substance, and he almost has an allergic reaction to the suggestion that he might
e surrea st sts s
S t a l ki ki n g V e n g e a n c e i s a s p i r itit m a d e f r o m t h o s e w h o s e d e a t h s w e r e u n ju s t – a paran orm al ug g ernau t m a d e o f bo bo n e a n d t o m b s to t o n e s , bo bo u n d togethe r with raging s ouls. A n t h o n y S . W a t e rs r s is is t h e m a n t h a t s u p p l ie ie s t h e m a g i c in in M a g i c c a r d s . G i e n t h e l im im i t e d s p a c e o n a M a g i c c a r d , e ve ve r y e le l e m e n t o f a c r e a t u re re m u s t b e c a r e f u l ly ly c o n c e i e d . I u s e d i n s e c t in in e w i n g s to to s u g g e s t t h e e v e n t u a l fli fli g h t of the so ul,on ce ustice h as b e e n d o n e ,” ,” s a y s A n t h o n y . I n d e v e lo lo p i n g h i s a p p r o a c h t o p a in i n t in in g , A n t h o n y d o f fs f s h is is h a t t o t h e g r e a t Z d i s la la w B e k s in in s k i.i. T h e P o l is is h S u r r e a lili s t h e l p e d h i m u n d e r s t a n d t h a t “y “y o u d o n ’ t n e e d t o h a v e o b vi vi o u s l y h u m a n fo f o r m s to t o m a ke ke s t a te te m e n t s a b o u t t h e h u m a n c o n d i t io io n .
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S o h e r e , a h i g h - ke ke y r e d b a c kg k g r o u n d g e n e r a te te s a f o u n d a t io io n f o r t h e i m a g e s , the rag e of the de ad , p e r s o n i fie fie d .” B u i l t u p o n t h a t ba b a s e a r e s ta ta g g e r e d m u l ti ti p l e s o f e le le m e n t s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e S t a l ke ke r : n e s t e d p a i r s o f ja w s , e m b e d d e d s u l lsls , b u n d l e s o f g r a ve v e s t o n e s c o l le le c t in in g t o fo fo r m l e g s ,” A n t h o n y r e v e a l s d a r k ly ly . A n t ho n y w a n t s t o c o n ju r e a r e a c t io io n i n h i s v ie ie w e r s , n o t ju s t d r a w them a picture,and ,he s a y s , t h e r e ’s ’s a s lim b u t c r u c i a l d i f fe fe r e n c e b e t w e e n p o i n t in in g y o u r fi n g e r in in t h e g e n e r a l d i re r e c t io io n a n d g r a b b i n g t h e v ie ie w e r ’ s h e a d t o m a ke ke t h e m s e e y o u r in in t e n t .” .” T h a t b e i n g the c ase, he c ontinues: T h e d e g r e e to t o w h ic ic h y o u r a r t isis s u c c e s s f u l r e s t s o n h o w l i t t le le d i c t a t io io n i s t a k in in g p l a c e .
Art: Ar t: Ant Anth hon ony y S. Wat aters ers
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PH ARAOHHO UN D “Id d thisseveralyearsago or now defunctg unctgam am om pany.Itw asm ea eantt ntt be a prom ot otonal onal piec oritsgam niver vere. e. A group ofpeasantsw atch asa G od pour orth hisw rath u pon som poor bastards usesA nthony.“T hispiecew as executed Painter,befor ched using Ph otoshop dam n nearexc near excusi usively, he ad adds. ds.
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CYTO SPAWNSH AMBLER ere’ son ofA nthony’ sclass agic:the G athering cards. eve one sa n opportunit or an rreve enttake on hi art,A nthony explains ha hatiti titis:“It’ sa blobular blobthing ade sa up oflot ofblobby blobn obnes es .S orryforallthe echnicaljargon.
Fantasy Card Artist 57
Interview FEROC EROCIOU IOU S CHARGE H e r e ’s a M a g i c p i e c e I d i d i n c o l la la b o ra ra t i o n w i t h m y c o m p a d r e a n d f el el l o w a r t i s t , C a r a M i t t e n ,” ,” r e ve ve a l s Anthony. “She did the sketching and underpainting, I took it to a finish.”
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Art: Ar t: Ant Anth hon ony y S. Wat aters ers
A n o t h e r c l a s s ic ic M a g i c : the Ga thering card from Anthony. “I’m happy with this one,”he beam beam s.
TH READ SO FD ISLO YALTY T his is a M agic: the G athering card, from the K am igawa Block which was released some years ago,”sa ago,”sa ys Anthon y.
have a “style” of his own. “I honestly don’t think I’ve got a style,” he says. “It’s not somethingI’ve been craftingconsciously. I just see my answer to a given visual problem.” To Anthony, style is something quite separate from art. “Style can even get in the way of your art, by causingyou to develop, and come to rely on, visual shortcuts.” It becomes, he adds, a shorthand for laziness. “You stop taking
You’re reat th the e fu fun n part rt,, generatingt ingthe he ideas, and that’s when the meaningof what you’re goingfor is hangingright in front of you.” But as a particular piece of work progresses, he adds, it’s easy to become distracted. “It’s when you start thinking about colour choices and renderin rendering gthat you can lose track of that underpinning value: what you’re tryingto express.” Anthony believes this to be the last big
St ylee can get Styl ge t in the way of your your art, ar t, by causing you to develop, and come to rely on, visual shortcuts the time to figure fi gureout howmorni morning ngli light ght falls on snow, or what a night-time scene in a village should look like.” Instead of gettingout there and joiningu jo iningup p th the e gaps in your skills kills,, he he goes on, “you start relying relyingon on what knowledge you have in your head to make a stab at the challenge, and use style to gloss over the ignorance.” This, he believes, is the enemy of promise. “From that standpoint, style scares me.” That said, Anthony admits that he doesn’t actively avoid havinga style, but adds that the creative demands of being a concept arti artist st encouragehi him m to find fi nd alternative ways to frame his work. The main thing, he says, is “to try and make sure I don’t get caged.”
H O LDTIGH T Given such potential pitfalls, how can the artist remain focused? Anthony is clear: “The main thingto keep in mind when you’re creating creatinga a work of art is, ‘what are you tryingto say?’” If you’ve gone to the trouble of devisinga story, he believes it only makes sense to let it do the work it was born for – givingyour image a purpose, a life. “I try to hold on to that thought from start to fini fi nish,” sh,” he adds. “At the beginningthe connection’s pretty clear.
obstacle an artist has to overcome. “Once you’ve managed to get technique techni que tucked comfortably under your belt, you can get lost in the act of painting,” he says. “You no longer penetrate the surface of your work, you become a technician, and you lose track of what you were tryingto say.”
FAVOURITET ETHEM ES So just what is Anthony trying tryi ngto to say? He gives us a cheery selection of the subjects that go towards inspiringhim: “Alienation, isolation, anger aimed inward in ward and and outward, outward, love, sacri ceand loss. Those things interest me most.” Essentially, these are the ingredients of the human condition, the raw materials of a sweepingnovel by the likes of Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually a Russian,” muses Anthony, somewhat wryly. “Or maybe it’s theVikin Vikingblood gblood in i n me.” In truth there’s not really any need for him to try to explain. These are some of the themes which art has attempted to addresssin since cehuman humans s first first start drawing drawing on the walls of caves. “I’m less interested in blood and thunder than in those things that pull us apart,” explains Anthony. “How much of that is a reflec refl ection tion of myown inner turmoil, turmoil , I’m not sure.”
ANTHO ANT HONY NY S. S. WATER WATERS S
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Fantasy Card Artist 59
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Art: Sina Sinad d Jaruar Jaruartjanapa tjanapat t THE THE ART ART OF
S NA NAD D AR ART ANA AT T h e T h a il a n d - b a s e d illu s t r a to t o r ’s’s b r ig ig h t a n d c o l o u r f u l w o r is a n e xt x t e n s i o n o f th t h e a r t is is t h i m s e lf – t h e r e ’s ’s n o r o o m f o r g l o o m in e s s in i n h is b e a u t ifif u l p i e c e s
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inad Jaruartjanapat is wellknown for his colourful, loosely anime-inspired style of high fantasy. “I “ I like to create work in this style because I feel comfortable doing it, and it’s very much how I imagine it in my head,” says Sinad. But as we all know, the future is not certain… certain… Who knows, knows, we might might see see my work work become become darker!” darker!”
Ultimate Fighting System editions) and numerous Thai-based games. The moody, moody, gothic gothic pieces pieces of many European concept artists are not for Sinad. Nor is the typically tortured metal-inspired look that’s a favourite of many a young US illustrator. His images exude enthusiasm and energy, and it’s no surprise to find that this is a reflection of the artist himself. My main inspirations are the feelings of joy I get from each job, and the challenge
T h e p a r t I e n o y m o s t is r e a l l y p u tt t ti n g m y a l l in toto a o b . I w a n t e v e r yo yo n e w h o l o o k s at m y w o r k toto fe e l g o o d For some time now, Thai illustrator Sinad has q uietly been building building up his portfolio of fabulously detailed and graceful pieces – both personal works and card game art. Resolutely upbeat, his images often feature beautiful women with elven faces – although if he needs to paint a burly man with a big weapon, he can do. The girls girls in particular particular have been a big hit on CGSociety, CG Society, but you’ve probably encountered his work elsewhere: his art features in books such as Digital Painting , and he is also an active active member of the prestigious Imaginary Friends Studio network. Meanwhile, his card art has featured in series by Tenacious Games and Sabertooth Sabertooth Games ( particularly the
behind it,” it,” he says. “ The part I enjoy enjoy most is really putting my all into a job. I want everyone who w ho looks at my work to feel good and enjoy enjoy it… That’s That’s what I intend intend for every piece.”
REAT NG A ORLD ORLD That’s That’s not a particular particularly ly fashio fashionab nable le ideal, ideal, at least not in Western markets, but Sinad doesn’t seem to care about any concept of being “cool.” As a child, he discovered he enjoyed creating characters and props in particular: “ When I designed designed those, it made me feel like I could create my own little world, world,”” he says. says. And like like many artistic artistic kids, kids, he was later delighted to discover that th at he could actually do this for a living.
THE GUARDI GUAR DIAN C reated for he book d’art D gi alP ainting 2, hich w as reease re ease by B al P ublihi ublihing n 20 0 8 and an d eaturesa ealh eal h ofart ofa rt ts
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GUND AM S i n a d ’s’s u n o f fi c i a l W ing G undam fan art, inspired by the M obile obile Suit G undam W ing a n i m e s e r i e s. s. G
While he was at university, Sinad would would often use watercolours rcolours as abasis for his hi s work, but these days he has large largely abandoned traditional media in favour of a digital workflow – aside from an initial pencil sketch, that is. “I feel more comfortable doingit that way, and I’m used to it now,” he says. “Also, I like to let the line art be a part of the work, and have it work together with the colour and composition.” Sinad says his style and approach have evolved so that workingdigitally feels more natural. “I feel that doing background and other composition is much easier than before. I think it’s because I can see the whole image by zoomingin and out – that way I can see clearly what I’ll add or cut, if something’s not necessary for the image. Also I can
edit throughout the entire process, without makingthe making the paper dirty!”
O NTHECARD S Inspiration can come from anywhere, although obviously jobs such as card art require a more specific cific imag i mage – particularly if the game is well known and fans expect a certain style. “Sometimes when I’m first assigned a job, I can imagine it immediately – and sometimes I hardly know where to start,” he explains. “In that case I’ll go and find more information in a magazine, or books, or even on the web, so I can gather ideas.” The important step for him is to get it straight in his head before he even begins drawing. “Then I’ll start with the sketch… This This method can help me a lot in cases like this.”
WAREFO X O ne of the character r a c e s S i n a d d e s ig ig n e d for the Th ai version version o f o n l in in e R P G Perfect W orld.
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Card art takes up much of his time, and as his reputation in that field has grown he has found himself beingoffered more and more work. Networkinghelps – the series of card image images he produced for Sabertooth Games’ Ultimate FightingSystem came about through Imaginary Friends Studios, for instance. “That was really fun work, and I’m very proud of it.” But even for someone as clearly clearly optimistic as Sinad, it’s not always smiles and effortless mouse strokes. “Sometimes it can drive dri veme crazytoo! he laughs. “Mostly it depends on which pieces I’m workingon. Occasionally I have a habit of havingso much fun while workingon something, or getting too ‘serious’ with with the details, details, so I spend far too much time on them.” Is heevertemptedto takeon a full ful l-time -time position at a studio and relinquish the freedom of beinga freelancer, then? Sinad is undecided. “Enjoyingmy freedom is good, but takingon a new challenge by workingwith studio or company is fine too,” he muses. “It doesn’t really matter what comes alongso longas I can still work at the things I enjoy doing.” He does later mention a vague plan to become a full-time employee and stabilise his career somewhat – “but I need to improve my spoken English li sh first!” first!”
So we ask Sinad, do you play the card games yourself? “Actually, to tell the truth, I used to think I’d like to play the card games, but I’m I ’m too shy!” he says. Not Not that he adoptsa fire-and-forget fire-and-forget approach, movingstraight on to the next job once one is out of the way. “I “I do reall real ly needto see my work after it’s been released as a final product. I need to check that the colour is the same as in my work, for instance. Also, sometimes sometimes I want to seehow the character character I’ve designed looks in place.” Artists such as Sinad and fellow Thai Skan Srisuwan (fiduciose.cgsociety.org), although he’s now based in Singapore, have done much to raise the profile of Thailand as a country producingvibrant new fantasy artists. arti sts. That hasn’t always been the case Sinad points points out that even while while he was university, some years ago, Rangsit was the only major institution in Thailand that really focused on digital work and multimedia in its art curriculum.
O VERSEASB SBIAS The situation, he believes, has improved since sincethen: then: “Now, “Now, wehave more companies ompani es and studios in this field, which is a good sign for the industry.” Difficulties arise not because the world regards Thai artists as somehow inferior, but that the
MATSURI F E S T IV A L
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K E E P YO U R H E A D Try to conce ntrate on the work in in front front of you, and try to get all other problems out of the way so you ca n rea rea lly lly co ncentrate on the job.
Interview
A N G E L E R U
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T he i age thatm thatm arked arked S nad st step nto t e p o a ea A lt h o u g h S in a d c r e a t e d A n g e l K n i g h t o f t h e R u n e m a n y y e a r s a g o , i t ’s ’s s t ili l l o n e o f h i s f a vo vo u r it it e p i e c e s , f o r va va r i o u s r e a s o n s . I t w a s o n e o f h i s f irir s t s e r io io u s a t t e m p t s a t c o m b in in i n g t h r e e o f t h e e le le m e n t s h e l i e s t h e m o s t : a n g e ls l s , a r m o u r a n d s u b t le le u s e o f c o l o u r . H e c o m p l e t e d i t ju s t a f t e r h e g r a d u a t e d . P e r h a p s m o r e im im p o r t a n t ly ly , i t w a s t h e f irir s t i m a g e h e p o s t e d o n C G S o c i e t y w a y b a c k i n 2 0 0 5 , w h ic i c h g a ve v e h im im t h e w o r l d w i d e e x p o s u r e h e w a s lo lo o i n g f o r . U n d e r s t a n d a b ly l y , t h e n , i t re re p r e s e n t s s o m e t h in in g o f a m i l e s t o n e i n h is is c a r e e r s o f a r. r . T h i s w a s t h e f irir s t s t e p f o r m e t o g e t t h i s o b , ” h e e x p l a i n s . “W “W h i le le I w a s w o r k in in g o n t h i s p i e c e , I t r ie ie d n o t t o t h i n k a b o u t i t t o o m u c h . I u s t d id t h e b e s t I c o u ld a t t h e t i m e .
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he brief for this this workshop was to explain the proc ess o f produc ing a Magic card. card. I took th is a little little literally literally and dec ided to play on the idea of an enchanted deck of cards. I had a dream that I noted in my sketc hb oo k a co uple of years ago in whic h I saw a demo n illustrating illustrating a deck o f playing cards. When I was asked asked to do this worksho p, the idea came back to me. I changed it, however, to muse upon what would happe n if these c ards ards were used. A typical Magic: Magic: the Gathering Gathering brief would be
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S I can produce countless doo dles and ideas before I finally finally settle on an outline. I tend to work work in a couple of sketchbo sketchbo oks: a moleskine for rough rough conc epts and thumbnails, and a larger, heavier grade sketch bo ok for the fleshed out idea. This enables me to f lip through numerous p ages ages without interfering with the production of the final sketch.
worldliness worldliness of the demo n kings. Mo st illustrations , irresp ec tive of clie nt or pu rp os e, start with thu mb nails and sketc hes . In brief, an an old m an has drawn a diabolical full ho use . Three six es and a co uple of kin gs. However, the kings have gone gone m issing from the face of the c ards ards and are loom ing in reality reality behind their victim. I cho se hearts and clubs as I co uld see the p otential for creating creating rather rather scary, violent creatures. creatures. Hop Hop efully the illustration illustration is s elf-exp lanatory. lanatory.
T he de When I’ve nailed nailed the fin al sketch, I’ll add add so me co lour before sendin g it it to to the client. This makes the go-ahead with the final image image a much sm oother proce ss. With card art you’re you’re loo king for c lear com munication munication and goo d contrast betwe en the elem ents – after all, all, the art has to be reduced to a sm all size. Althoug h this illustrati illustration on is not as restricted by those considerations, it always always help s an image to to o bey thes e rules.
colour t o To Toseal t he deal, Da ve adds co n his vision o g in w inal sk et ch, dra his f in his mind.. i n n o i t f t he f inal illust ra of t D w out I enjoy working up a highly finish ed penc il drawing. I try to nail nail a lot of the design elements and emotions. Some where in the future there’s there’s the final image and I’m I’m referring to this p icture in my m ind as I draw. draw. Always try to h ave an emo tional attachme attachme nt to your work. It’ll It’ll really help c reate reate reality reality in yo ur work and not just phys ical realism. realism. I believe that this old m an is really really about to be claimed by Hell.
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O p e ne r A f tete r s c a n n i n g th e p e n c i l d ra ra w i n g in in to to a in in te te r I u s e t h e S i m p l e W a tete r b r u s h t o r e m o v e th e w h ite b ac k g ro u n d a n d a d d a ro u g h co l o u r s c h e m e . I ’m th in k in g o f an e v e n in g w ith th e s u n s e ttin g th ro u g h th e w in d o w . Th e s u n d o e s n ’t w o rr y th e s e d e m o n s . D u s k a l w ay s s e e m s s p o o k ie r th an an y o th e r tim e o f th e d ay o r n ig h t.
E a r ly l y p o s i t io io n h e n w o r k in in g d ig ig it ita l ly ly , I u s e th e s am e p ro c e s s as if I w as u s in g r e a l -w -w o r ld l d p a in in tsts . I w o r k u p to to h i gh g h l ig i g h tsts a n d d o w n to to s h a d o w s fro fr o m th e p re v io u s l y a p p l ie d m id to n e s . I a l s o w o rk fro fr o m b ac k g ro u n d to fo re g ro u n d – t h e ro o m ’s e n v iro ir o n m e n t fo l l o w e d b y th t h e k in g s , w i th t h e o l d m a n a n d ta ta b l e l a s t. t. I c re ate A l p h a C h an n e l s o f th e s e s e p a ra te e l e m e n ts . Y o u c a n u s e th e L a s s o o r P e n to o l to to a c h ie i e v e t h isis . I fi n d h o to s h o p h as th e b e tte r s e l e c tio n to o l s an d it m ay p ay to d o th is b e fo re w o rk in g i n ai n te r. I d o n ’t a d h e r e t o th e s e s e l e c ti t i o n s r e l ig ig ioio u s l y a s I w a n t to a v o id a n y c u t- o u t fe e l .
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Fantas antas y C ard ard A rtist rtist
I find that m y greates greates t ins p irat iratio io n co m e s fro m lo o k in g th ro u g h p h o to g rap h y b o o k s . I f in in d th th e w o r k o f d o c u m e n ta ta ry ry p h o to g rap h e rs s u c h as D o n M c C u l l in an d a m e s N a c h tw t w e y toto b e e s p e c ia ia l ly ly u s e f u l . h e n t ry r y in in g toto c ap ap t u re re e m o tio n a n d m o o d, real real life life situat situatiio ns c arry the g re ate s t gra v ity a n d th e a fo re m e n tio n e d p h o to g rap h e rs are ar e m as te rs o f th is c ra ft.
T w o o f a ki kin d I w a n tete d C l u b s to to b e a h u l k i n g fig u re an d H e ar ts to h av e th e b e ar in g o f a su rgeo n. Thes e creatures creatures are dedicated dedicated to th e ir c raft. ra ft. Th e K in g o f C lu b s is d e d i c at ate d to to v i o l e n c e , w ith h is h a n d s fo re v e r b o u n d to h is w e ap o n s . Th e K in g o f H e a r tsts r e s e m b l e s a v e r y d a rk rk o n ioi o n s e l le r. I a l s o re m e m b e r a b io lo g y l e s s o n w h e r e I h a d toto d i s s e c t an an o x h e a r t.t. I u s e d th is m e m o r y to d e p ic t th e R e d K in g ’s fac e . I fo u n d th at th e a rtis rti s t Ho H o lb e in w as a great so urce o f insp irat iratiio n fofo r the c lo th in g an d d e c o ratio n . It I t real re al l y h e lp s to h a v e th th e w id e s t, m o s t d i v e r s e in in f l u e n c e s i n y o u r re re s e a rc rc h .
Pot I find find m yse lf us ing qu ite a l im im ite d n u m b e r o f b r u s h e s w h e n I w o r k . M a s te te r i n g u s t a c o u p l e o f th e m e n ab l e s yo u to c o n ce n trate fu l l y o n th e ta s k y o u h av e i n h an d , w h i c h i s s i m p l y p a in in ti ti n g an an i m a g e w ith o u t w o r ry r y in in g ab ab o u t w h i c h b r u s h d o e s w h a t.t. Th Th e b r u s h e s t h a t I u s e m o s t a rere S i m p l e W a te r , th e c u s to m is e d S c ratc h p e n to o l , a co c o u p le o f P al e tte K n iv e s an d a S p att attery A irbrus h that acts acts just like like a toto o th b r u s h . Th Th i s l a s t b r u s h i s v e r y us eful fo r tete xture xture and no ise. It acts acts o n a se p arat arate layer, so it’ it’s ve ry adjus adjus table acco rding rding to the effect effect th at yo u a re aim in g fo r.
H o l d ’e ’e m h e n e v e r y o u ’r’r e p a i n titi n g , r e m e m b e r th th a t y o u r c h a r ac ac te te r s e x i s t in tim e a n d s p ac e . Fe e l th e s u rfa c e s , lig h tin g an d te xtu re s as y o u p ain ai n t. Mak M ak e p h o to g rap h s an d s k e tch tc h e s – an d l o o k , to u c h an d fe e l d iffe re n t m ate rial ri al s . T h i s s h o u l d a l l b e f e e d i n g in in to to a n d e n h a n c in in g th th e f i n a l i m a g e . I n y o u r p ain ai n tin g , m ak e s u re yo u d iffe re n tiate b e tw e e n m e tal , fu r, c lo th , s k in , w e t a n d d r y . I f in in d i t u s e f u l toto s t u d y p a i n ti tin g s i n g a l l e r ieie s a n d m u s e u m s t o s e e h o w o th e r ar ar titis tsts s o l v e th th e s e p r o b l e m s .
In Depth Macabre card art L e f t) t) D a v e r e d u c e s t h e s iz e o f t h e o l d m a n ’ s h e a d to to b r in in g i t in t o p r o p o r ti tio n w it h th th e o v e r a l im im a g e . B e l o w ) I t’t’s i m p o r ta ta n t to p a y a tt tt e n ti tio n to to t h e s k i n ’s’s te x tu re w h e n b u ild in g u p th e fa c ial f e a tu re s .
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Fossil Next, I concentrate on painting the head. I slightly reduce the siz e of it. Using my Palette Knife and Scratchboard tool, I build up the structure of the man’s face. Pay careful attention to the feel and texture of the skin, and remember that wrinkles and and veins veins are part of its structure. Too many beginners depict them as separate entities, snaking over the surface. Pay careful attention to areas of high and low blood flow. The ears, cheeks, nose and lips will be warmer and look fleshier than the forehead and bony areas. The area under the eyes will be cooler as veins will be close to the surface. Use the Spattery Airbrush tool to build up noise and textu re. Using opaque paint on top will help model the flesh – similar to using glazes in traditional painting.
M ar ed cards I decide to use real scanned playing cards. I arrange them face down on the scanner, and remove the images of the kings in keeping with the storytelling. I take my image into Photoshop and, with the cards on a separate layer,
I use Edit > Free Transform to make t he cards adhere to the perspective of the table. I then spend some time in Painter adding scratches, folds and stains to the cards so they tie in with the overall image.
I took a week’s break while producing this image to be able to look at the card art with fresh eyes. I felt I needed to push the old man forward and work a little more on his coat and posture. Personally, I would probably go back and re-tweak large area s of the whole image, but it’s not always realistic in the world of deadlines and commercial pressures. Still, I will take the image back into Painter and address the issues I feel are most critical for me to be happy with the image.
S t a c ke ke d d e c k I think about the kings originating from the cards and decide to apply some crumpled paper texture to their base. I then do an observational painting on top of their robes using a luminosity layer. This improv improves es the visual contrast contrast between between the kings and their their victim. victim.
Help To add more atmosphere atmosphere to the kings, I use a fitting, custom-made texture of some stagnant water that I photograph photographed. ed. Experiment Experiment with the blend and transparency options until you achieve the desired effect. I make sure the kings a re masked for this process. It doesn’t have to be exact as it can unify an image to have texture seeping into foreground and background. You want the make photographic elements appear subtle so they act on a subconscious level. I’m usually searchi ng for a Goldilocks effect – just enough, not too much or little. This is a gut feeling that you’ll develop, rather than using strictly defined settings. This can be applied applied to everything everything you do in art.
Showdown I take the image back into Photoshop for the final colour adjustment and add a little separation to the kings. I add a peach-filled layer set to Soft Light to lighten the background. There is a hard opaque mask over the old man and I lessen its strength over the kings to strengthen the contrasts in the piece.
Fantasy Card Artist 7 1
Workshops
P otos op
PAINT A CREATURE FOR A GAME CARD a
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Glasgowbased Dave is a f a n ta ta s y i llll u s t r a toto r f o r iz a rd rd s o f t h e C o a s t , ig h t fa fa lll l G a m e s a nd n d W h itit e W o l f , a m o n g o t h e r s . H e a lsls o w o r k s in in v id id e o g a m e s . d
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES
S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
eremy Jarvis, the art director on Magic: The Gathering, wants me to pai aint nt a new version of a card illustration I did several years back – Archdemon of Unx. It’s a personal favourite, and it’s great to revisit the design and bringa new dimension to the card concept. When you work on paintings for collectable coll ectable card games you have to take several things into consideration. The final painted art is goingto be shrunk to jus ju st a few cent ntim ime etres in siz ize e, so you need to balance your abilities with the image’s
constraints. The paintingneeds to have excitingcharacter design and plenty of mood and impact, but it can’t be too busy. Creature-based cards like li ke this this typically have just one character in them, which makes things a little easier, but you still need to make it visually stimulating in concept or dynamic in pose. Here, I’ll take you through the process of producing a Magic: The Gathering card until we have an illustrat il lustration ion ready for submission.
T h e a rt rt c o m on The processal always waysstarts with with the the art brief. “Show us an enormous, winged, black demon-lord with a wicked grin on its it s face. It’s It’s easy to get lazy on thi this, so channel your inner inner 14-year-old boy and make it awesome! ” By “lazy,” “lazy,” the art director means he isn’t lookingfor just a traditional view of what a demon looks like. He wants a cool new new design that the audience isn’t expectin ting g.
T he sket sketch ch ph as Because I’m workingfrom a preexistingdesign, I don’t need to spend time creatinga new look for the creature. I dig out my original version and start drawing a different pose. The original art was painted almost entirely in side profile, which is lookinga little li ttledull. This time, I turn the demon design into a threequarter-angle portrait portrai t so we’ll see more of the creature’s form and body details.
7 2 Fantasy Card Artist
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T h e p ic tu tu r e i s b e g i n n i n g to to ta k e s h a p e a n d I ’ m e a g e r toto s t ar ar t s h ad in g th e d e m o n , b u t I n e e d to ge t the th e b ac k g ro u n d p ain ai n te d f irs t, a s th th e l i g h t,t, s h a d o w s a n d c o l o u r s o f th e e n v i roro n m e n t w i l l d i c ta ta tete h o w th e c r e a tu tu r e isis l it it a n d r e n d e r e d . Th Th e m o s t i m p o r ta ta n t th i n g w h e n I co m e to p ainti ainting ng the actual character character is th th at it do es n’t slip into into the b a c k g roro u n d . I ’m ’m c a r e fu fu l n o t to m a k e th th e b a ck c k g ro r o u n d to to o d a rk rk o r to o b r i g h t,t, b e c a u s e th th i s m a y c h a l l e n g e t h e to to n a l ra ra n g e o f th e d e m o n .
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I start start the p ainti ainting ng b y blo cking in th e b as e c o l o u rs an d s h ap e s , m ak in g s u re I k e e p a l l th th e e l e m e n t s o n s e p a ra ra tete l a ye ye r s . A t th i s s ta ge ge I d o n ’t’t c o n c e r n m y s e l f w ith co c o lo u rs o r s h ad in g – I ju s t w an t toto d e fin e th e fo rm s . Ev e r y as a s p e c t o f th e p ain ai n tin g is tre ate d a s a s e p ar ate , de d e fin e d e l e m e n t.
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I m ay w ant to revisit the b a c k g r o u n d l a tete r , b u t th e r e ’s’s n o w e n o u g h i n fo fo r m a titio n th th e r e fofo r m e toto m o v e o n to to r e n d e r in in g th th e a c tu tu a l d e m o n . R i gh gh t n o w , I ju ju s t w a n t to fo c u s o n b r in in g i n g o u t th e fo rm o f th e c re atu re an d a v o id g e ttin g b o g g e d do d o w n in in fi f in e d e ta ta ilil s o r c o m p l e x l ig ig h t in in g . I p i c k a d u l l p u r p l e / g re re y c o l o u r a n d roro u g h i n la la rg rg e b l o c k s o f s h a d in in g w ith a s i m i la la r a p p r o a c h to to b e fo r e . I t lo o ks untidy, untidy, but it’ll it’ll all titighten up as o th e r l ay ay e r s go g o o n to to p o f it.
At th is p o int, int, I w ant to start start p icking A d d sh ad o w s o u t i m p o r ta ta n t re g ioio n s o f th e d e m o n ’s’s b o d y in in c o l o u r , i n c l u d in in g th th e b a re re s k u l l T h e i m a g e isis l a c k in in g d e p th , s o I s e t i n p a l e y e l l o w a n d th th e s c r e a m i n g fa fa ce ce s in a b o u t a d d in in g s o m e s h a d o w s . I c r e at ate a b l o o d r e d . I g o to th e a p p r o p r ia ia tete l a ye ye r , n e w l a ye ye r , p ic k a d e e p b l u e a n d a p p l y itit s e le c t it w ith th e M ar u e e to o l , an d th e n l ik ik e a n in in k w a s h s w itc h i n g th th i s l ay ay e r toto h i d e th th e M a r u e e o u tltl in in e . I c an an n o w u s e 6 0 p e r c e n t O p a c itity ) ac ac r o s s t h e u n d e r s i d e a b ro ro a d b r u s h ty ty p e a n d roro u g h i n th th e n e w o f th e d e m o n . B y ap ap p l y in in g th th e s h a do do w s co c o lo u r de d e tail s w ith o u t c ro s s in g th e l in e s . l ik ik e a w a s h , y o u c a n ac ac h i e v e t h e d a rk rk n e s s The creature creature is start starting ing toto b e reco gnisable yo u n e e d w h il e r e tain in g th e d e tail th at a s th th e d e m o n I p a in in te te d b e fo fo r e . w a s p r o d u c e d in in t h e p re v i o u s s ta ge ge .
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Fantasy antasy C ard ard A rtist rtist
A l l o f th e e a rlrl y b r o a d s tr tr o k e a n d p re p w o rk th at go e s in to m y p ain ai n tin g is n o w c o m p l e te te , a n d I c o m m e n c e th th e l o n g e s t s ta ta ge ge o f th th e i l lu lu s t ra ra titio n p r o c e s s . I t i n v o l v e s g o i n g c lolo s e r i n toto th e f e a tu tu r e s o f th e c h a r ac ac te te r a n d s h a r p e n i n g th th e m u p . I do this b y picking o ut lighter lighter areas areas and tig h te n in g th e fo rm an d c u rv e s , th e n d e e p e n i n g th th e d a r k e r r e g ioio n s o f th e b o d y . It’s du ring th th is stage th th at I can reall y se e th e p ain tin g c o m in g to ge th e r.
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F ie r y o r b B e fofo re I c an a n d o m o r e o n th th e d e m o n , I n e e d to f iinn i s h t h e e x te te r n a l l ig ig h t s o u rc e s . Th e d is tan t, gl o o m y l ig h t b e h in d th e c h arac ar ac te r’s b ac k is i s lo o k in g fin fi n e r ig h t n o w , b u t I h a v e n ’t’t s t ar ar tete d t h e b u r n i n g o r b abo ve its its he ad. I’ll do th is in in th th ree stages stages : rende ring ring the the h eart o f the fire fire w ith de ep reds and o range range ; adding lighter lighter stra strands nds o f fl am e r is in g u p th e o u ts id e o f th e o rb ; an d p l ac in g a b rig h t So S o ft L ig h t ye l lo w l ay e r a b o v e i t,t, toto c r e at ate a w a rm rm g l o w .
I n D e p th Paint Paint a creature A d d in t e n s e l i g h t a n d t e xt xt u r e Now that I’ve established and completed my two main light sources, I can continue with the creature creature.. I’m I’m foll followin owing g a simila similarr approach to Step 9 , but this time the highlights I’m adding have colours that correspond with their nearest light sources – warm colours beneath the fiery orb and cool colours towards the ghostly light in the background.
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Most of the work on the body of the demon is now done, so I focus on one of the most important aspects of the painting – the eyes. When you look at any character portrait, you’ll inevitably be drawn to the eyes, and their colour, lighting and expression convey the entire mood of the scene. Here, the t he demon’s eyes are sharp, beady and utterly evil.
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T h e d ro o l I want the demon to look gruesome and ravenous, as t hough it forever hungers for fresh souls. I create the long strings of saliva hanging from its jaws by using the same sam e fine brush as before to paint in the basic shapes in a light yellow hue. Once t his is done, I reduce the Layer Opacity Opacity down to 5 -10 -10 per cent to give give it some transpare transparency. ncy. I use a finer brush and a paler yellow colour to create a thin, tapering line around the outside of the initial layer, giving the saliva a watery gleam.
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Some areas of the demon’s outline are still looking a bit too simplistic, particularly those beneath the neck and along the lengths of the arms. I choose a fine brush setting and add a few extra details, including strands of hanging flesh, to make these regions appear a little more interesting.
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The painti painting ng’s ’s nearly nearly compl complete ete now, now, so it’s a matter of making a few tweaks. I like how the background looks, but I’d like to add a little more aggression, so that the environment matches the demon. I add a few forks of lightning across the skyline to help make the monstrous realm a bit more foreboding. foreboding. I want the demon to stand out from the backdrop without looking stuck on, so I add a few w wispy ispy banks of smoke along the base of the image and among the wings and arms of the character. This helps to draw the whole w hole picture together.
R e vi vis it t h e i m a g e Here’s our completed Archdemon of Unx part two! I’m I’m q uite pleased pleased with the end result, but I’m still musing on whether there’s anything left to do. At this stage, it’s best to leave the finished art for several hours, or ideally a day. If you take a break and return to the picture afresh, af resh, you’ll see the art with wit h a new perspective. I decide the picture is looking a little murky and could do with being lightened up a fraction. I use Levels to brighten the painting slightly – don’t push the slider too much, as this can end up making things look a bit patchy.
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S c r e a m in g t h r o n e I’ve decided I want to make the mound of earth that the demon is perched on a little more interesting. This time, I’m adding screaming faces that correspond with those on the demon’s neck. This new approach gives the overall painting a more infernal mood than the previous version of the card.
Fantasy Card Artist 7 5
Workshops P ai
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PAINT A SPECTR TRA AL HORSE AND RIDER ma ke s use of seve mak sev e ral pho photo to refe referre nce ncess – and a pumpk p umpkiin – to produc producee a stri s triki king ng fantas fantasyy c omp omposi ositi tion on fe fe aturi aturing ng a powe p owe rful ste steee d a
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES
S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
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n this workshop I’ll show you my process of creatingthe characters of a demonic horse and its unearthly rider. I’ll work with photo references for both, and use them as drawin wing gguides for the horse, hopefully creatinga dramatic pose that’s based on several piece pieces of reference material. I’ll use a more direct photo
n e b eg I take the approved sketch and use Photoshop’s Color Balance, Hue/ Saturation and Brightness/Contrast tools to createa sketch on a tinted ti nted ground that’s roughl hly y the colour and value that I want. I then start layingin the basic values usinga normal opaque colour and a Multiply layer, producinga translucent tone that doesn’t totally totally obscure the sketch.
paint-over method for the figure. This is the basic approach that I use on most of my card and cover work. Keep in mi mind nd that the methods are interchangeable and can be applied to different di fferent elements of a piece, dependingon what the goal for that element is. For example, in this piece I don’t want the horse to look like a photo, but to have
a more painted, stylised and iconic pose, rather than a more reali alistic stic one such as I might produce through workingwith one specific piece of reference. For the rider, on the other hand, I want to work with all the information that the photo reference has to offer and edit as needed. I’m keen for the folds of the cloth, overall form and the pose of the figure to have a more life-like quality.
se ref refer eren en ce For this horse, one of the first things I do is gather photos or other sources of reference that I think will be helpful. Here’s a look at a selection of different shots I’ll be usingas the guide for this. I usually keep my reference files on my second monitor, monitor, so that my main screen remains free for the piece itself and the palettes. S art g e se I take a simple brush tool with a hard edge and start drawingthe drawing the horse. The process is a corrective one for me. I’m constantly referringback to my horse reference file, lookingat the legs on one, the neck on another, and so forth. I scale the brush size up and down constantly. e e p in g a m e th th o d o th th e m a d n e s I like to keep the startingpoint for a particular session on the Background layer. I duplicate the layer and usually name it “Image”. On top of that, I start another layer named “Detail”, on which I start workingover the image. I try to keep the addingof Detail layers to a minimum, and then merge them when I’m happy with the result – even merging them to the Image layer once in a while. When I feel that the piece piecehas progressed enough I’ll resave the document, usually with a letter or number. In this case “Headless Rider a” will become “Headless Rider Ri der b”, and so on. Thi This givesme asafetynet copy to refer back to.
7 6 Fantasy Card Artist
hange ofhead I start start anew layer and patch out the head. I want to give it more of a profile view to show off its silhouette. I want to get the icon iconic ic look look of a chess-setkn knight, ight, especially as the rider doesn’t have a face.
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S m o o t h a n d s im im p l e O n c e I h a v e a fa fa irir am am o u n t in in p l ac ac e , I m o v e th th e p ie c e toto a in in te te r . I ’m ’m l o o k i n g to tak e th e l in e ar ar,, d raw n e d ge o ff it an d g iv e it a mo re p ai aint nterly erly lo o k. Fir First st I sim sim p lif lifyy th e l ay e rs b y m e rg in g as m an y o f th e m a s I c an an i n P h o to s h o p . I s t ar ar t in P a in in te te r b y c r e a titin g a n e w l a ye ye r o n to to p . I u s e t h e B l e n d e r s b r u s h s e t to u s t A d d W a tete r an an d a b o u t 4 0 p e r c e n t O p a c itity , a n d b e g in in s m o o th in g o u t the im ag e . I th in k th at th is h e lp s to k n o c k th e o b v io u s l o o k o f th e P h o to s h o p b ru s h e s d o w n i n to a m o re “ p a in in te te d ” s ta r t fo r th th e b a c k g r o u n d . O n c e I get to a po int I’I’m m hap p y w it ith, h, I take take the im a ge g e b a c k in in toto h o to s h o p .
F i r s t im im a g e f l i p o w th a t th e h o r s e isis b a s i c al al l y la la id id in , I s ti ti l l h a v e a fe w p ro b l e m s to to w o r k o u t.t. To To s e e th e s e m o r e c l e a rlrl y , I f l ipip th e can c an v as h o ririzz o n tal l y. I d o th is re g u l ar l y w h i l e p a in in ti ti n g , a n d I a l s o f in in d t h i s h e l p s to b re ak p atte rn s th at I te n d to d e v e lo p .
I no w star startt layi laying ng in the the s u rr rroo u n d in g co c o lo u rs an d s tar t toto ge t m o r e o f a fe e l o f h o w th i s p a l e tt tte isis g o in g to e v o l v e . A n o th e r ad v an tag e o f h av in g th e n e w d e tail o n a s e p ar arate ate l ay e r is th at I o ft ften en like w hat I’ve do ne b ut fi find nd it us t a bit to o str stroo ng. To To co unter th is, I redu redu ce th e o p ac ity o f th e n e w D e tail l ay e r do do w n to ab o u t 6 0 o r 7 0 p e r ce n t b e fo re I m e rg e it w it ithh the m ai ainn D etai etaill layer.
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I ’m ’m n o t c o n c e r n e d w ith t h e f ig ig u r e at th is p o int – in fact fact,, I’m I’m p at atch ch ing mo st o f it o ut as I w o rk. My figure figure reference reference w ill dictat dictatee h is p lacem ent later. later.
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Fant antasy asy C ar ardd A rt rtist ist
I l a s s o th e f ig ig u r e f roro m th e r e fefe r e n c e a n d p u t it o n i tsts o w n l a y e r fo r n o w . I e ra ra s e th e n e ga tiv e s p ac e a n d h e ad , le av in g o n l y w h a t I n e e d . A s b e fo r e , I d u p l ic ic a tete t h e fig u re l ay e r an d h id e it. I s tar t m ak in g a d ju ju s t m e n ts to to th e p o s e o f th e f ig ig u r e b y lasso ing the the b o o t and ro tat ating ing itit unti untill I like it it. O n a new layer, I draw the rest o f th e n e c k a n d h e ad , an d m ak e a fe w o th e r c h an ge s . Th is is n o w m y b as ic re fe re n ce layer fofo r the the rider.
M ask ad ustm en ts o w th a t I h a v e w h a t l o o k s l ik ik e a h e ad ad l e s s m o d e l , I n e e d toto m a k e s o m e v a l u e a n d c o l o u r ad ad ju ju s t m e n ts . I g o i n to to u ic ic k M a s k an an d m a k e a m a s k fofo r th th e s h ir t, us u s in g th e b ru s h to o l s . I th e n ta k e it o u t o f u i c k M as as k a n d d u p l ic ic at ate t h e fig u re l ay e r, b e fo re in v e rti rtinn g th e s e le c tio n and de leti leting ng ev erything b ut the sh irt irt.. o w I c an a n m a k e v al al u e ad ad ju ju s tm t m e n tsts u s i n g B r ig ig h t n e s s a n d C o n tr tr as as t a s w e l l as as c o l o u r a d ju ju s t m e n ts u s i n g C o l o r B al al a n c e . I ta ta k e th e s am e a p p ro ac h o n th e tr o u s e rs . N o w , m y fi fig u r e isis d r e s s e d i n d a r k c l o t h e s .
S u r ro u n d in g c o lo u r s
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o w it’s ti ti m e to t o g e t th e p h o to referen ce fo r the referen the ri rider der into into the p iece. I set up the lights so they m at atch ch the lighting lighting o n th t h e h o r s e a n d n o te th t h e c a m e r a an an g l e / e ye le v e l I w an t. Fo r th is p ie c e , I ju s t n e e d a b o d y in in s o m e p e r ioio d c o s tu tu m e . A ft fte r s h o o tin g s e v e ra rall p o s e s , I s e le c t th is o n e b e c a u s e o f h o w I th th i n k it it w il l w o r k w i th th th e p o s e o f th e h o rs e .
In Depth Paint a horse & rider F ig u r e d e t a i ls It’s time to start adding some details. I refer back to figure reference and start adding studs and so on to the horse and riders’ outfits. I also start defining the distant background. At one point, after flattening all of the detail on the Image layer, I duplicate it and set the layer to Color Dodge at an opacity of between 10 and 15 per cent. This heightens the value and brings out the highlights a touch.
F ig u r e d r a w i n g I duplicate and reorganise my layers, and start a detail layer to further correct the figure’s edges and costume. I also start to add the saddle detail and the pumpkin. At this point I’ve started a file of various Jack-o’-lanterns. I also want to shroud a cape around the main parts of the figure. I constantly make corrections to the size of the figure and saddle while they’re still on separate layers, and rotate the piece using the Rotate View option.
F u r t h e r c o r re r e c t io io n s I now want to start working on the anatomy of the horse again. I have some problems with the front legs, so I check my horse reference file and rework them, continuing to add detail. At some points, I lasso and select an area a rea of the horse’s head and apply the Transform tool. Once I’m happy with the lassoed area, I merge it back to the Image layer. I don’t worry about seeing the edges of the cut-out section, as I’ll go on to reshape and smooth these out later.
S e l e c t i e r im im l i g h t i n g I continue to detail the figure and horse, adding the light from the Jack-o’-lantern as I go. I could have shot the figure reference with this rim light, but I want it to appear only in very specific places. I use a variety of textured brushes, playing around with the settings each time – usually the Scattering and Texture options. I also refine the drawing of the tree in the background.
T id y i n g u p
N ew horse head
Now that the piece is starting to take shape, I go back into Painter to dea l with all the little little bits bits of photo photography graphy that are left in the figure, as well as to soften the maple leaves and background, again using the Blenders brush. To add details back in at this point, I use the Oil Pastel Brush set to Chunky Pastel, and the Oil brush set to Fine Camel Hair. Ha ir. Once I’m happy, I go back into Photoshop to draw in some more environmental details.
The head of the the horse horse needs needs to be more animated. So I find a reference shot that’s closer to the pose and position I want. For this I bring in the photo reference of the new horse head and leave it on its own layer. I adjust the angle by transforming it and begin to redraw the head as well as other figure details. When I’m satisfied satisfied,, I delete the horse horse head reference and resave. I then take the image into Painter for some final tweaks.
RESOU RC RCES ES
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I want to increase the light effect from the Jack-o’-lantern. On a separate layer I use a Radial Gradient tool to create a circular gradation over the light area, set the layer to Color Dodge and reduce the opacity to about 15 per cent. Then I set a layer to Darken and work out the negative space behind the tree and around the figure’s figu re’s upper body. Once I’m happy I flatten and add a detail layer for finishing touches. I add a more detail to the horse’s tack and some blowing leaves, which help bring more of the orange colour into the piece and add some more motion.
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A d d i n g t h e b a c kg k g r o u n d d e t a il il This is is the point where I start to use use a wider assortmen assortmentt of of brushes. brushes. I use the the Maple Leaf brush in a scattering effect to lay in the leaves, and adjust the colour until I’m happy with it. I also set a layer to Color Dodge to add some lighter background values and enhance enhance the glowing glowing effect that that I want to achieve achieve in the back.
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Fantasy Card Artist 7
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Dan is a freelance illustrator il lustrator w ho produces art for book covers and interiors, trading card games, vid eo g am es and c omic s.
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Gang of four I submit four rough thumbnail sketches. The se are just quic k, loose loo se ske tches, conveyingg g eneral conveyin pose and composition. I’m not not too wo rried about what she’s going to be wea rin ringg at this point. point. I also keep the background pretty sparse, bec ause I want the image to focus on the character.
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Down to tw o I usually usually do a tight sketch and add g reysca le va lues be for e I s ta rt w ork ing in colo ur, but the art editor wants to see two of the rough sketches in colour before deciding on which of the images to go with. This image, feat urin uringg the E lf Rang er in an action pose , is is eventuallyy rejec ted on the g roun eventuall rounds ds that her body angle would look awkward on the cove r. In addition, the snowy ba ckg round might obsc ure the tex t that will will eventually eventually be superimposed onto the scene.
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The fac e is the mos t impo rta nt pa rt of the image. It’s what se ll llss the character and compels someone browsing browsin g the newssta nd to pick up up the mag azine. It’s It’s important to make sure the lighting looks realistic realistic and believable, so I do a lot of research for image s with similar similar light light ing.
F e e l in g o f te x tu r e
I don’t use texture ove rl rlays ays much, but I do use a lot of texture b rushes. In In this closeup you can see I’ve used different brushes for the fur, the leather, and so on.
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I now now ap ply colour to my tight sketc h. All the linework linework c an still be se en and the basic c ol olour our sche me is all in intac tac t. I ca n’t mess it up too badly at this point, point, so it’s now time to rende r out all of the different diff erent surfaces and deta il ils. s.
F a c e th e fa c ts
I start defining defining the face . I spend a lot of time time trying to g et the lighting and expression just right. ri ght. Other parts of an image can be less defined if if need be , but the face is what’s g oin oing g to grab the viewer’s atte nti ntion. on.
G e t a g r ip
Once I have the official go-ahead, I dive into all the fun deta il ilss that I’ll be c ursing myself for adding adding w hen I get to the rendering rendering sta ge . I originall ori ginallyy w anted to have my archer with an open grip, just to try some thi thing ng different, but eventually this this got c hanged to the traditional closed grip so it wouldn’t be confusing.
S c a l in in g it u p
A ll the ren de ring is now done. At this point, point, I step bac k, look at the piece as a w hol holee and see what areas nee d tweaks in va lues , colour, de ta il, and s o on. I try a ve rsion with with dragon sca les in in the background, as if she’s standing in front of an enormous red dragon that she’s just just conq uered. The The art editor likes this version and dec ides to go with it. it.
F antas antasy y C ard A
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Fantasy Card Artist
compositions Artist insight Great compositions
MAKING GREAT COMPOSITIONS shows y ou his his favouri fav ourite te tric tric ks for strong c ompositi omposition onss that ar a re g uarantee uarantee d to have instan sta nt impac mpa c t a
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D a n ’s’ s w o r k s p a n s a v a r ieie t y o f g e n re s including n o v e l s , c o m i c s a n d f ilil m . H e h a s w o r k e d fo fo r D is n e y , n iv iv e r s a l S t u d ioio s , iz a rd rd s o f t h e Co ast,Dark Horse C o m ic i c s a n d D C C o m ic ic s . a
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
trong composition is crucial to a successful piece of art. It’s what will attract a viewer’s viewer ’s eye from across the room, and what will hold hold their their attentio attention n once once they take a closer look. It can mean the difference between an action-packed piece of art and a nd a more contemplative one. But how do we make a composition convey the mood we want, and what is it that makes a composition successful? There are a many many long-standin long-standingg rules rules about what makes a good composition, such as the Golden Ratio, R atio, the Golden
Spiral and the Rule of Thirds. But they aren’t really rules at all. Think of them as suggestions… or better yet, as optional templates. Traditional Traditional methods like these are just one answer to a problem which has an infinite number of solutions. Ultimately, Ultimately, their purpose is just to offer a simple method for an artist to use u se to make a more pleasing image. In this worksho workshop p I’ll I’ll discuss discuss some some of these traditional techniques, but more importantly I’ll explain why they are successful and how you can use that t hat knowledge to make a better image.
To begin, all you really really need need to know is this: a good composition composition is nothing more than a pleasing arrangement of shapes, colours and tones. That’s simple enough, really. really. Chances are, most artists art ists with any experience experience can produ produce ce a good good composition composition with their eyes closed. But we don’t don’t want good composi compositions tions,, we we want greatcompositions! We want to be masters of composition, bending it to our will, so that we can make make the viewer’s viewer’s eye do exactly what we want it to do. In order to do that, we first need to understand u nderstand the basic properties of composition.
T he b as cs
The root root of all composition composition lies in relationships. Look at the image i mage above (the two black squares). Although it’s technically a composition, it’s not a very successful one. The viewer doesn’t know know where where to to look, look, nor nor is is there any sense of flow to the image. By altering one of these squares, even slightly, I’ve created a much more successful composition in the second image below. As simple simple as the image is, itit already already has a sense of motion and depth. How? Through relationships. By causing a disparity between the shapes, I’ve given the viewer a means by which they can compare those shapes. “This one is bigger, that one is lighter.” The grey grey square square appears appears to be moving and receding receding only when compared to the black square. The process of comparing these shapes requires that the viewer moves moves their eyes repeatedly around the canvas, and therein lies the true goal of a great composition: controlling that eye movement.
T h e G o ld e n R a t
Let’s look at the Golden Ratio. This was devised by the ancient Greeks, in pursuance of the Platonic concept of ideals. This holds that all things, both tangible and intangible, have a perfect state of being that defines them. The Greeks also felt that one should always strive toward achieving this ideal state, be it in mathematics, one’s physique, politics or aesthetics. Greek mathematicians, after repeatedly seeing similar proportions in nature and geometry, developed a mathematical formula for what they considered an ideal rectangle: one whose sides are in the proportions of 1:1.62. They felt that all objects that exhibited these proportions proport ions were more pleasing, whether it was a building, a face or a work of art. To this day, the proportions of standard sizes of books and even credit cards still conform to this ideal.
Fantasy Card Artist 8 3
o rk s h o p s I m p lie d lin e s T h e s e a re re p r o b a b l y th th e m o s t im p o r ta ta n t a s p e c t o f a co co m p o s it i tio n , b e c au au s e y o u no tice them first first.. W he n yo u’re u’re painting painting realisti realistically, cally, the re’s re’s no actual actual line aro aro un d a s u b je c t. Th e i l l u s io n o f a co n to u r is a re s u lt o f di ffe re n t v al u e s an d c o lo u rs co n tras tra s tin g . B u t e v e n th th e i m p r e s s i o n o f a lili n e isis s t roro n g , an an d o u r e y e s w il l g o to it a n d fofo l l o w its leng th u ntil ntil it it en ds o r until until it m ee ts ano the r line line , w hich w e’ll fofo llo w again. again. A great great co m p o s itio n m ak e s s tro n g u s e o f th is n atu ra l attr ac tio n to l in e s . B y c r e at atin g s t roro n g l in in e s fo r th th e e y e s t o fo l l o w , w e c a n d e c i d e w h a t p a th th w e w a n t p e o p le to tak e a n d w h e re w e w an t th at p ath to e n d . I n th is p ain tin g yo y o u c an s e e a s tro n g co c o n to u r th at fo l l o w s al o n g th e c ap e , do d o w n th e w o m an ’s a rm , to o u r s u b je c t’s fac e , do d o w n h e r ar m , an d th e n b ac k u p to th e c ap e . Th is c re ate s a circ c irc u l ar c u rre rr e n t th at k e e p s th th e v ie w e r s ’ e y e s f l o w i n g a roro u n d t h e c o m p o s i titio n , h o l d i n g th e i r atte n t ioio n . Th Th a t c u rre rr e n t al s o b rin ri n g s th e ir e y e s p as t e v e r y k e y e le m e n t o f th e p ain tin g , o n e a t a tim e . A n d d o n ’t’t fo r ge ge t , w h e th e r yo yo u ’r’r e w o r k in in g fofo r p r in in t o r fofo r w e b s i tete s , th th e b o r d e r s o f yo u r co m p o s itio n are ar e a n i m p l ie d l in e , to o .
R e in f o rc i n g t h o s e foca l p oints
B y creat g l es f eyes o f w an ec e at pa h w e nt eo e to ak
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Fantas antas y C ard ard A rtist rtist
A s w e l l a s u s i n g im p l ieie d l i n e s toto d r aw aw th e e ye al l aro a ro u n d a c o m p o s itio n , yo u c an u s e th e s am e m e th o d to m ak e s o m e o n e l o o k im m e d i at ate l y at at y o u r c h o s e n fo c a l p o i n t.t. In fact, fact, yo u can do it rep eated eated ly, fro fro m m ultip ultip le directio directio ns . This is p arti articularly u s e f u l w h e n y o u r im im a ge ge i s a p o r tr tr ai ait o r a p in-up in-up , and the ch aract aracter’ er’ss face is the m o s t im p o r ta ta n t e l e m e n t . To b r i n g m o r e att atten tio tio n to a p articular articular ch aracter, aracter, try try to m ak e s u rro rr o u n d in g o b je c ts , s u c h as a rm rm s , s w o rd s a n d b u i l d in in g s , p o i n t to yo u r s u b je c t. Y o u c an al s o u s e i m p l ie d lines to frame frame the s ub ect’s ect’s face, face, lo cking th e v ie w e r’s e y e s in p l ac e .
Ar tis t in s ig h t Great Great compositions compositions Background
dde dd egr egr T h e R u le o f T h ir d s This principl principlee states states that if you divide divide any compos compositi ition on into into thirds, vertically and horizontally, then place the key elements of your image image either either along along these these lines lines or at the junction junctionss of them, you’ll you’ll achieve a more pleasing arrangement. But does it work? Let’s look at Edmund Dulac’s painting, “ The Little Mermaid: The Prince Asked Who She Was.” Was.” Dulac was great at using empty space to his advantage, partly because he tended to abide by the Rule of Thirds. Here Dulac has h as placed the column and the horizon line perfectly along a line of thirds. But what if he didn’t? With the column and horizon line in the centre of the image (below right) , the result is less successful. The column dominates the image, stealing focus away from the figures. The viewer’ viewer’ss eye is now now glue glued d to to this strong strong shape shape that bisects bisects the canvas, instead of wandering around the image like it originally did.
T h r e e s a r e e ve ve r y w h e r e Balancing three elements seems to work its way into most aspects of picture making, and value is no exception. When constructing compositions, I tend to think in general arrangements of foreground, middle- ground and background. To heighten the relationship between these three depths, I try to restrict each to a range of value, favouring black, white or grey. For instance, you can ca n let the background predominately be white tones, the middle-ground predominantly greys and the foreground predominantly black tones. Of course, any arrangement of these three values will work. work. By restrictin restricting g your values values in these these areas areas you reinfo reinforce rce your image’ image’ss sense sense of depth and make the silhouettes very easy to read – and that legibility is important. Muddy values hurt the viewer’s ability to discern shapes, especially at a small scale. That’s That’s why you’ll you’ll see this techni ue used used so so often often in trading trading card art. When your image is just a few inches tall, high-contrast compositions work especially well. Triparti Tripartite te value value schemes schemes like like this are readily readily apparen apparentt in the works works of the Old Masters, partic ularly in the engravings of Gustave Doré . His paintings all show different arrangements of black, white and grey to emphasise the difference between foreground, middle-ground and background.
H o w t h e ru le s w o r The Rule of Thirds Thirds works works because because it demands demands that the artist artist makes one element more dominant than another. This dominance creates an imbalance, and an imbalance of any sort will always attract the viewer’s eye because it implies dynamism. Bisecting an image perfectly in half creates the least amount of interest, because everything is eq ually balanced and static. Look back at those black black and grey sq uares on the first page. The first composition is boring because it’s too balanced. Making M aking one area of your composition more dominant creates tension, and therefore adds interest. It also makes ma kes your eye move around the canvas canv as more to compare all of these relationships. The fact that a composition is divided into precise thirds is really of minimal significance. You could divide a composition in fourths, fifths or even tenths. So long as there’s some sort of imbalance, the composition w ill exhibit tension. As you’ll soon see, this concept of imbalance applies to many aspects of composition, including value and colour.
I m b a la l a n c e o f va va l u e s Looking at Dor ’s engravings, you can observe that not only has he divided his composition into three obvious layers of depth dept h by using three ranges of value, he also creates an imbalance in the proportions of those values. For instance, he may use a large amount of grey, grey, and a small amount of white, but rarely eq ual amounts. This reinforces the importance of imbalance to create tension. By letting the composition be dominated by grey, the small accents acc ents of white and black garner more attention and draw the viewer’s eye towards the subject.
Fantasy Card Artist 85
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THRE THREE E DEGREES REES OF SEPARATION T
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Tr y b re a k in in g y o u r c o m p o s it itio n d o w n in in toto th re r e e d isis tin c t te te m p e ra tu tu re re ra n g e s : w a rm rm , c o o l a n d n e u t ra ra l.l. u s t lik e v a l u e , re s tric t in in g c e r ta ta in in a re re a s to a te m p e ra tu re w ill c re a te a m o re le g ib le c o m p o s itio itio n a n d a g re a te r s e n s e o f d e p th . Y o u c a n a rra n g e th e s e te m p e ra tu re s in a n y o rd e r. s e trip a rtite s c h e m e s fo r c o lo u r te m p e ra tu re a n d v a lu e fo r m a x im u m e ffe c t, e n s u rin g fo c u s a n d le g ib ility ility in e v e n th e b u s ie s t o f c o m p o s itio itio n s .
S t a r t o f f s im im p l y When sketching sketching out out a concept, concept, think in terms of the simplest structure possible: background, middle-ground and foreground, then key each depth to a simple value range of either black, white or grey. grey. If you can already already tell what’s what’s going going on in an image with this little detai l, your composition is strong.
R e in f o r c e y o u r idea Once you’ve decided on the basic value structure, reinforc reinforcee it with three distinct colour temperatures. In this case, I chose to make the background neutral, the middleground warm and the characters of the foreground cool.
V a lu e s a n d tones When painting the image, image, incorporate different values and tones into each of these areas, but be careful to squint at the piece often, making sure the general impression of each area still falls within the chosen temperature/value range.
T h e b e n e f it it o f c o n t r a s t Black and white are inherently powerful tones. If you use them sparingly, and right next to each other, you can draw the viewer’s attention to a particular spot with ease. When painting, try reserving the purest whites and blacks for your focal point. For instance, if your main character has very pale skin, try placing something extremely dark on them, such as black ha ir or black clothes. This is one of the easiest and most successful ways of making your subject really “pop”. “pop”. In my painting Blood Divided, I did just t his to make sure the heroine sat apart from the background.
Black and white are inherently powerf powerful ul tones. Use them sparingly and right next to each other to make yo your sub subject real reallly ‘pop’ 86 Fantasy Card Artist
Artisst in Arti inssigh ght t Great Great compositions compositions
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTI ACTIO ON! ha s yo ur an e? I can c ha ng e everyt everythi hing
I m b a la la n c e c a n n o t u s t c r e a te te a m o re e x c it itin g flo w to y o u r c o m p o s itio itio n , b u t it c a n a ls o a d d d r am a m a . T h e n e x t titim e y o u fe e l th a t y o u r p a intin int ingg is n ’t e x c itin itin g e n o u g h , try tip p ing th e c a m e ra a n g le . Ev E v e n th e s lig h te s t tip to th e h o rizo riz o n lin e c a n tu rn a m u n d a n e s c e n e into a c o o l a c ti t io n s h o t. E x p e r im e n t w ith th th e p s y c h o lo g ic ic a l im p re s s io n s t h a t d if if fefe re n t c a m e ra a n g le s c re a te . S tra igig h t , th e p a in in ti tin g b e lo w la c k s r e a l e x c itite m e n t . T h e b ric ric ks , rain rain and h air air all c reate s im p le v e rtic a l line lin e s a n d d o n ’t d o m u c h to t o e n h a n c e th th e d r am a m a o f th e p ie c e . T ipip p in g th e im a g e g iv iv e s it a w h o le n e w fe e l. S u d d e n ly ly itit a p p e a rsrs lil ik e t h e w o m a n isis b e in g t h ru r u s t a g a in in s t th e w a ll. Th T h e re ’s a ls o m o re o f a s e n s e o f w e ig h t to th e ir p o s e s . T h e s la n tete d e y e l e v e l a d d s a s e n s e o f ac a c tio n , a n d h e lp s y o u r e y e “s lid e ” th ro u g h th e im a g e .
M a ki ki n g m a g i c Colour is an extremely powerful tool, and can inject a piece of art with mood and light. But it’s also a strong compositional tool. Just like implied lines and contrasting values, colour can be used to draw the viewer’s eye anywhere we want. As mention mentioned ed before, before, disparities disparities draw the viewer’s eye. So, if your painting has a colour scheme in place t hat’s predominantly red, then any other hue (particularly a complementary green) draws attention to itself. Or you can create a disparity between levels of saturation, such as a mainly grey or muted painting with high high saturation saturation in a small area. The greater the disparity, the greater the attention it receives. I often use this method to create the illusion of magic or dramatic lighting. You You can make a colour colour appear intense simply by making the rest of the composition relatively desaturated, and/ or complementary, in comparison. My painting Soulborn is primarily red and purple, yet everything besides the similarly hued “magic” element has been slightly reduced in saturation.
Just like implied lines and contrast contrasting ing val values, es, col colour can be used to draw the viewer’ viewer’ss eye to anywhere we we wan want
P u t t i n g it a ll together A good good comp compositio osition n is one where the artist controls the movement of the viewer’s eye to a beneficial result. We can do do this by a number of means, such as reinforcing the focal point with the Rule of Thirds, implied lines, contrast of value and selective colour saturation. Putting all of these tools into action in a single piece, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s Duel After a Masquerade Masquerade Ball is is the perfect example of using all compositional devices to your advantage.
Fantasy Card Artist 87
Workshops
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GET THE LOOK OF TRADITIONAL ART ta ke s us throug tak through h hi his bareb are- bones ap appr proac oac h to to imag imag e maki makin ng and e xp xpllai ains ns how to “ be at up” a n il illustrat ustratiion so that t hat it it looks trad tradiiti tional onal
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task, my goal is to paint somethingthat feels wholly traditional while usingnontraditional tra ditional too tools. ls. When workingdigitally, I use a Cintiq pressure-sensitive monitor with Photoshop. I tend to use the same basic tools: the Brush tool in Normal mode (although sometimes I use Overlay mode to intensify colours and contrast, or Lighten or Darken modes), the Dodge/ Burn tool, for quick contrast manipulation, the Eraser and the Scale/Rotate tool tool.. The brushes that I use tend to have heavy texture, which brings an organic
looseness to the overall image. I don’t like a slick digital look, so I try my best to kill it by not usingsoft or clean-edged brushes. In fact, I enjoy havingto beat up my image, to bruise and scar it, eliminating that cold, digital feeling. Ironically, it’s because I’m workingdigitally that I’m able to do so. The The best (and worst) aspect of digital paintingis the countless number of directions one can explore so easily and quickly. What’s more, of course, there are no brushes to clean or toxic splatters of turpentine to wipe off the walls. And that’s a good thi thing!
T hum n a il sk sk e tc h e s I start with multiple thumbnail sketches exploringvarious ideas. These are pencil on paper and areabout1 .2 .25 5 x1.75 x1.75 inches. inches. Because I’m goin oing gto bepainti painting ngthi this s image digitally, I don’t worry too much about the details. I know I can always manipulate the image to my heart’s content. If I were goingto do the paintingtraditionally I would do a lot more referencework for the figure figure and the batbefore commi ommitti tting ngto to canvas.
S can the the sketch and se p e The thumbnail sketch is small, so I scan it at 1,200 1, 200dpi. I then then duplica duplicate thesketch layer and setthi this s newlayer’s properties properties to Multiply. Next I create what I call a “paintinglayer” and place it below the sketch. This enables the sketch layer’s darks to always bedarker than the the colours colours I’ll be applying, while the sketch’s whites don’t affect the colours at all. all. I also create a quick palette to colour-pick from.
or this workshop I was asked to do a classic fantasy piece. For me, classic fantasy is pre-digital, pre-Star Wars, around the early to mid-’70s mid-’70s. I grew up on Tarzan and Conan comic books, Ray Harryhausen’s Sin inba bad d movies, Godzil Godzilla la and KingKong, and of course Frank Frazetta’s paperback and magazine covers. Stories where a giant bat could hold his own as The Monster, as opposed to a parasitic alien who bursts from your chest and grows into a creature unli unl ike any we’d seen before. With thi this s asmy
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8 8 Fantasy Card Artist
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I c o n s t an an tltl y r e d u c e t h e i m a g e o n m y s c r e e n d r as as t icic a l l y,y, w h i c h i s s i m i l ar ar toto w a l k in in g ac ac r o s s t h e r o o m w h i l e w o r k in in g tr tr ad ad i titio n a l l y. y. Th Th i s m a k e s i t p o s s i b l e to to s t ay ay fo c u s e d o n th e im i m ag e a s a w h o le , in s te ad o f ge ttin g l o s t in a s in g le s p o t – th e re ’s p le n ty o f time fo r th th at af aftter the the fo un dat datio io n h as b ee n laid. Eventually, af aftter trying trying o ut vari varioo us coo lo u r an d v al u e s c h e m e s , I re fin e it al l to s o m e th in g th at fee l s l ik e th e r ig c ighh t dire di re c tio n .
N e w l a y e r o ve ve r g o o d w o r k h e n I g e t to a s ta ta ge ge w h e r e I l ik ik e w h a t I ’v’v e d o n e , I co co l l ap ap s e m y p ain t lay e rs an d ju s t cre ate a n e w l ay e r o n to p , b u t s til l u n d e r th e s k e tch l a ye ye r . h i l e I w o r k o n t h e n e w p a in in t l a ye ye r , I c o n s ta n tltl y tu tu r n it it o n a n d o f f to m a k e s u r e th th e n e w p a in in ti tin g I ’m ’m d o in g i s b e tte r th th a n w h a t I h a d p re v io u s l y. I f it is n ’t, I c an e as il y e ra rass e th e n e w w o rk to re v e al th e o ld , b e tt t te r w o r k b e l o w .
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G e n t ly l y i n t e n s i f y in in g t h e im im a g e O ne d igit gital al toto o l that that I p art artiicularly enjo y u s i n g isis D o d g e a n d B u r n . A l th th o u g h i t’t’s e as il y ab u s e d , I l ik e th e w ay it’ l l b ririnn g in h i g h c h ro m a an an d v a l u e in in to to th e p a in in ti ti n g , c re atin g n e w c o lo u rs an d p u s h in g th e rich ri ch ne ss . But as I s ai aid, d, it it can b e e asily o v e r u s e d . To To m e , w h a t m a k e s d i g itita l w o r k co co l d isis s u p e rr - c l e an an a ir ir b r u s h , toto o m u c h d e t ai ai l a n d th th e D o d g e a n d Bu Bu r n to o l. U s e w ith c au tio n !
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I n D e p th Get Get the look R e f in in e t h e b o d y I continue to use the new brush as I refine the details of the barbarian’s anatomy and belt. The hand in particular needed extra attention, because I hadn’t worked wor ked out ho how w he he was go going ing to be holding the sword. Yes, this is something that should have been worked out way back in the sketch stage, st age, but working digitally gives me the latitude to rework it.
One of the problems I notice, while I have the image reduced to about the size of a postage stamp on my monitor, is that the rock under the bat’s left wing seems a touch too dark, pulling the viewer’s v iewer’s eye to a sort of black hole in the t he image. I brighten the area with the Brush tool set to Lighten. I also paint out some remaining remai ning colouring book lines in the far background with the t he brush in Lighten mode.
B a t d e t a il ils Before I begin with the details, I resize the image to its final resolution of x12 inch inches es at at 35 dp dpi. i. I begi begin n to refi refine ne details, alternating between the bat and the background. Some people love to jump right into their focal point when they begin this stage, but I like to put in more time before I get to the focal point. Hopefully this way I’ll be more in tune with the pain painting ting and the foca focall poin pointt will will get the best I can offer. of fer.
C h a r a c t e r d e t a il ils I’m finally ready to start on the barbarian. I begin with his face and for the first time I zoom into the image, alterna alt ernating ting betwe between en 6 .6 7 per cent and 10 0 per cent. cent. I also use a different different brush in this area. Although this brush still has a decent amount of organic noise, it has a velvety-smooth feel to the paint application, contrasting nicely from the earlier textured brush. This new brush allows for much more control over the details and colour blending, while maintaining an organic feel.
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While I almos almostt exclu exclusiv sively ely use Normal mode for brushes, I’ll occasionally use Lighten or Darken mode as well. This mode doesn’t work well on lay layere ered d files beca because use it only considers the values and colours on the layer you’re working on. For this reason, I select the whole image and copy it Ctrl+ Shi Shift+ ft+ C) , then pas paste te as a new new layer layer.. Now I have the whole w hole image as a single layer and the Lighten and Darken modes work wor k as expect expected. ed.
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F u r t h e r r e f in in e m e n t As well well as red reducin ucing g the imag imagee on screen regularly to see how things read at a distance, I also turn the current painting layer on and off to make ma ke sure I’m making the picture better instead of worse. I begin to refine the shield and the scabbard as well as the bar barbari barian, an, wor working king out the lighting on the planes of his torso.
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I feel like I’m finally achieving my goal: a noisy random looseness mixed with som somee tigh tightt poi points nts of deta detail il in the focal areas. The composition and flow are still intact from the original thumbnail sketch. It’s time to consider if this thing is done. I fill the screen with the image on a black background, remove the Photoshop palettes and examine the image.
M o n it o r c o m p e n s a t io io n After a lit little tle mor moree noo noodlin dling g aro around und I ad add d some falling debris and call it done. Now I have one last thing to do. Because I know that my monitor is too dark, making my digital work appear washed-out on other monitors, I have to compensate with an Adjustm Adj ustment ent lay layer er to tweak the Level Levelss of my image.. (Layer > New Adjustment image Adjustment Layer Levels) . Although this makes the image too dark on my monitor, I know it’ll look better on virtually everyone else’s.
Fantasy Card Artist 91
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ADAPTING A FANT ANTASY ART CLASSIC Tired Tired of the same sa me old old app a pprroac oa c hes to fantas fa ntasyy ic ons, brea break ks out the acrylics to put a fresh and inspired spin on painting a unicorn v
his is an interestingbrief, as it brings together two subjects with very specific fan bases that you might not expect would cross over. When you think of unicorns you’ll no doubt think of a beautiful white stallion with a noble gait and a sparklinggolden horn jutting proudly from the forehead. The clichés attached to these mythical creatures are often a bit kitsch or even twee, with soft colour schemes to match. Zombies on the other hand couldn’t be more different: mindless, rotting, putrescent – every new film or TV show seeks to present ever more disgusting make-up and special FX to make their zombies as grim as possible, and zombies have never been more popular than they are right now. So, let’s combine the two, to paint a zombie unicorn… The strongaesthetics strong aesthetics attached to each subject are tough to ignore, but I decide right away that I want to do somethinga little different from what might be expecte expected. To this thi s end I look l ook to the heavyworking dray horses of yesteryear as a startingpoint for my unicorn. These beasts are thick-set and heavily muscled with a sturdy frame as would befit an animal bred for heavy haulingand hard work. Their physique also resembles some of the horses that feature in the classic fantasy paintings of people like Frank Frazetta, and havingsome stylistic resonance with such great art is a welcome bonus!
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Also, rather than goingfor an action shot, I opt to create a static image, somewhat akin to the old engravings or illustrations of prize animals. I want the unicorn to be the core of the image, and excessive movement or suggestion of narrative would detract from this. A unicorn needs a horn, of course, but there will be no pretty, corkscrew spike for my version. Instead I plan to bestow it with a gruesome, heavily deformed weapon, bristlingwith spines and scales. I want the horn to look like it’s been used to monstrous effect. When I produce a piece of fantasy art, I try to create somethingthat catches the eye and encourages the viewer to linger a while. To this end I utilise beauty, composition tricks and horror. This painting will rely heavily on the last of these, so I might have loops of innards hangingfrom the animal. The addition of a few weapons driven into the spinal area will serve an aesthetic purpose too: arranged in a spoke formation they will serve to draw the eye into the focal centre of the image. Now, turn the page and we’ll begin painting! K e v c r e a te t e d c o m i c a rt rt fo r 2 0 0 0 A D a n d o t h e r s b e f o r e w r it in g n u m e r o u s a r t b o o k s . In In 2 0 1 2 h e il lu lu s t r at a t e d I a n L iv iv i n g s t o n e ’ s 0 t h A n n iv iv e r s a r y F ig ig h t in g F a n ta ta s y t itit l e , B l o o d O f T h e Z o m b ie s , s h o rt ly b e fo re h is s e c o n d b o o k w a s p u b lis h e d b y Il e x : 1 0 1 To To p T o p s F ro r o m P r o f e s s io i o n a l F an a n ta t a s y P a in in te te r s . k
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T h e s ke t c h I u s e a n o r an an g e C o l -E -E r as as e p e n c i l toto d r aw aw a r o u g h o u tltl in in e fo fo r th e u n i co co r n , b e fo r e u s i n g an an H B p e n c i l toto a d d d e ta ta ilil s u c h a s p r o t r u d in in g r ib ib s , a s k e l e ta l as as p e c t an an d a bro ad he ad that that isis in p art insp ired ired b y a p it bu ll terri terrier. er.
P e n c i l: l: f i n i s h i n g touches I c o n ti tin u e r e f in in i n g th th e p o s t u re re a n d e xa g ge rate d m u s c le s , u s in g a 2 H p e n c il w ith t h e o r an an g e toto b o o s t th e s h a d in in g a n d a dd dd a s h a r p e r e d g e toto s o m e l in in e s . I u s e a n e le c tric e ras ra s e r as a s c u lp tu ra l to o l to c ar v e a w a y a rere a s o f p e n c i l w ith p re c i s ioio n .
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T h e c a n v as as b o a rd rd I u s e i s ab ab o u t . 5 titim e s larger larger than the s ketch, s o fo r s c al in g u p I u s e a b l u e C o l -E -E ra ra s e p e n c ilil toto d r aw aw a n in in c h s q u a re re g r id id o v e r m y s k e t c h , an an d a n o r an an g e p e n c i l toto d r aw aw a . 5 -i-i n c h s u a re re g r id id o n toto th e c a n v a s .
3 D t e xt xt u r e D texture se ts tradi tradittio nal w o rk apart fro fro m digit digital. “Mixing “Mixing h i tete ” a cr c r y lil ic p a in in t is b l o b b e d a roro u n d t h e e d g e s o f th e a r t b o a rd rd . A s m a llll p i e c e o f c a rd rd i s p r e s s e d o n toto th e p ain t, an d l e av e s co o l v e in s an d ridges ridges w he n lift lifted aw ay. ay.
U s in g t h e g r id I u s e a n o ran g e C o l E r as as e p e n c i l an an d a n H B p e n c i l to s k e tch tc h th e u n ico ic o rn o n to th e can c an v as ar t-b o ard , w ith th e g rid m a k in in g it it e a s y to to k e e p th e p ro p o rtio n s c o rre rr e c t. A r isis m a co co l o r e t B l ac ac k p e n c i l h e l p s e n h a n c e th th e d a r k e r to n e s a n d a d d d i m e n s i o n a l itity toto th e b l o c k s h ad ad o w s .
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T o n e p a in t in g : s h a d in g I a p p l y th th i c k e r p a i n t i n s o m e a r e as as t h a t r e q u i re re d a r k e r toto n e s . Th Th e D te x t u re re s co c o m e i n to th e ir o w n to o , w ith d ar k to n e s s e ttlin ttl in g b e tw e e n th e r id ge s an d v e in s to c re ate te rr ific e ffe c ts . Th e p e n c il is th e n s tre n g th e n e d w ith b l ac k p e n , w ith Tita n iu m h ite acrylic acrylic pro viding light light to ne s.
B a c k g r o u n d : d e f in in i n g t h e u n i c o r n T h e u n ic o r n n e e d s to to b e d e f in in e d , s o I p a in in t th e b a c k g roro u n d f ir ir s t.t. I ap ap p l y a n D y k B roro w n , R e d O c h re r e , Y e l l o w O c h r e , O l iv iv e G r e e n an a n d L e m o n Y e l l o w o v e r th e to n e p ain tin g , w ith l ig h te r h u e s fra m in g th e u n ico ic o rn ’s b o d y. N e x t, I d e v e lo p th e s u n and m o untains untains dramati dramatically in in the d istance. istance.
C o l o u r g l a ze ze I c re re a tete a th i n g l a z e w a s h o f R a w S i e n n a , R aw aw m b e r a n d a to u c h o f Re R e d O x id e . I ap p l y th is in th e s am e w ay a s I d id th e to n e w a s h b e f o r e , f in in i s h i n g w ith a b i t o f toto o th b r u s h s p atte r . Th Th i s r u s ty b a s e c o l o u r w i llll u n d e r p i n th th e f in in i s h e d p a in in ti ti n g .
B a c kg r o u n d : m o vin g in t o t h e fo fo r e g r o u n d A s t h e b a c k g r o u n d i s r e fi fi n e d , I b e g in in to to e n h a n c e a fefe w a re re a s o n th th e u n i c o r n it its e l f , a s w e l l a s th th e g r o u n d i t s t an an d s o n . Th Th e e m p h a s i s isis o n th e a n im al , s o I d e l ib e rate l y l e av e th e b ru s h w o rk l o o s e a n d u n d e rw o r k e d o n th th e c r e a tu tu r e s a n d th th e s t o n y g roro u n d b e n e a th th th th e u n ic o r n .
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P a in t i n g t h e s kin Fo r painting painting the the texture o n the z o m b ie s k in I u s e P al e O l iv e , Fle s h T in in t,t, S ap a p G r e e n a n d P a l e L e m o n , w i th a n D y k Br Br o w n a n d T itita n iu iu m W h i tete fo r d ar k s an d l ig h ts . I a p p l y d ab s an d s tro k e s o f co lo u r o n to th e a n im al , w o r k in in g ar ar o u n d t h e s c a rr rr e d an an d veine d details. details.
D e t a i l: U n ic o r n I u s e a s m a l l e r b r u s h to to r e fi fi n e d e t ai ail s . I ad ad d s h a d o w s , b l e n d i n g toto n e s a n d e v o l v in in g tete x tu tu r e s . L e m o n Y e l l o w a n d T itita n iu iu m h i tete r e i n fofo r ce ce h ig h l i g h tsts a n d l ig ig h te te n t h e c o l o u r s a c roro s s t h e b a c k a n d u p p e r h a u n c h , an an d I g i v e p a rt rtic u l a r att atten tio n to the m etal discs discs scatt scattered b e h in d th th e m a n e .
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F in i s h i n g I n t h e f in in a l p a i n titi n g , th e r e isis a b a l an an c e b e t w e e n l o o s e b r u s h w o r k an an d f in in e l y r e n d e r e d m o d e l l i n g . T h e r e d d isis h u n d e r -p -p a in in ti ti n g p e r m e a tete s t h e c o l o u r s o n to to p o f it, h o l d i n g e v e r y th th i n g toto g e th th e r, w h i l e th th e 3 D te x t u re re s o f fefe r s h i ft ftin g p a tttte r n s o f s h a d o w s d e p e n d in g o n th th e l i gh gh t in in g c o n d i titio n s .
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’ve had the opportunity to paint plenty of weapons in my day. I still have a lot to learn, but I’ve picked up a few tips over the years that t hat could help you out. In this article I’ll get you thinking about ways to improve your approach to weapon painting in your work.
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There are a lot of things things to consi consider der when painting a hand-held hand-held weap weapon. on. What type of weapon is it going to be? Who’s wielding it and and how how do they use use it? it? How How did they acquire the t he weapon? How was it originally created? What special abilities does it have? How does it fit into the composition and does it help lead the
viewer’s eye viewer’s eye to the focal focal points points or create create distracting tangents? Is it shown from an interesting and natural-looking angle? Asking yourself some of these questions at the outset can help you in creating a weapon that adds to the story of its owner and makes for a more interesting painting.
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3 G O O G L E IS IS Y O U R W E A P O N T h e in te te r n e t isis o n e o f th e u icic k e s t , e a s ie i e s t a n d m o s t th th o r o u g h w a y s to to s e a rc h fo r r e fe re n c e s . Fo F o r e x a m p le , itit c o u ld h e lp m e d e s ig n a u n iq u e s w o rd h ilt o r c o m e u p w ith a n in inte te re s tin g c o lo u r s c h e m e . O n e to o l I u s e th a t h e lp s a l o t in w e a p o n p e rs p e c tiv e is S k e tc h p a n d G o o g le ’s D areh eh ou se.sketchu com ) . T h e b a s ic a r e h o u s e ( 3d ar ic v e r s ioio n o f S k e tc tc h U p is a fr fr e e p r o g r a m a n d th t h e r e a re r e s e v e r a l g r e a t d e s ig i g n s fo r fr e e d o w n lol o a d in in th e D a re h o u s e . A s w ith a n y re fe re n c e , b e s u re to m a k e it y o u r o w n a n d d o n ’t’t u s t tr a c e s o m e o n e e ls e ’s h a rd rd w o rk .
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Ar tis t in s ig h t Weapon design
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I n c o n t ra r a s t to to C h a o s , T h e E m p ir e fa f a c t io n is is m u c h m o r e o r d e r ly ly , a n d r ifif e w it h s t r o n g r e lilig io u s o ve ve r t o n e s . T h e w e a p o n d e s ig ig n s a r e m o r e s y m m e t r ic a l a n d t h e s y m b o lis m is ve ve r y d if f e r e n t , w it h c r o s s e s , e a g le s , s ku k u l lsls , f irir e a n d la u r e ls ls d o m in a t in in g t h e lo l o o . G o ld l d a n d c r im im s o n a c c e n t t h e c o lo lo u r s c h e m e . B u t e ve ve n t h o u g h t h e s e w e a p o n s a r e m u c h c le a n e r t h a n t h e C h a o s ve ve r s io io n s , t h e r e a r e s t ili ll s ig ig n s o f w e a r a n d t e a r fr f r o m b a t t le le .
Fantasy Card Artist 1 0 1
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1 0 G E T T H E K IL IL L E R L O O K T r y to t o k e e p in m in in d h o w a w e a p o n is u s e d . A n o r n at a te m a g ic i c s t a ff ff o f a h ig ig h w iz a rd rd w o u ld ld n e e d to to lo o k p ris tin e , w ith a h ig h le v e l o f p o lis h a nd n d v e r y fe f e w b le m is h e s . A c r u d e h a tc tc h e t w ie ld l d e d b y a n o r c w o u ld ld p ro b a b ly b e te rr ib ly g ru n g y . C h u n k s o f m is s in i n g m e t a l,l, l a rg rg e s c ra p e s , d irt irt,, ru s t a n d b lo o d s p la tte rs re a lly h e lp s e ll th e e ffe c t. T e x t u re re b r u s h e s a n d / o r te x t u re re o v e r l a y s c a n h e lp l p tr e m e n d o u s ly ly w h e n tr tr y in in g t o g e t th isis k in in d o f l o o k .
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F o r a s m o o th , s h in ieie r w e a p o n I te n d to to u s e a b r u s h t h a t s im im u l a te te s a r e a l p a in tb r u s h a n d u s e le s s te x tu re . N o tic e th e s u b tltlee v a r ia ia ti tio n s in c o l o u r th ro u g h o u t th e b la d e .
Chunks of missing metal, Chunks metal, scrapes, dirt, rust and blood splatters help sell the effect H
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A g o o d w a y toto m a ke ke a w e a p o n in in te te r e s tin g is to a d d a m a g ic a l e f fefe c t to it . I t c o u ld b e a fla m in g w e a p o n , s h o o tin g s o m e ty p e o f s p e llll,, o r s im p ly b e g lo w in g . h e n a d d in in g th th e s e e f fe c t s I w o r k w ith te t e x tu t u re re d a n d s m o o th b r u s h e s . Tr y n o t to o v e ru r u s e s m o o th b ru ru s h e s o r th e im a g e c a n s ta r t to lo o k o v e r lyly d ig it a l.l. H a v in g m a g ic w e a p o n e ff f fe c t s g iv e s y o u th e o p p o r tu n ity to u tilis e in te te r e s tin g l ig h t in in g e f fe c t s . T h e s e c a n b e u s e d to to h e lp lp d e fin e a n e d g e , p o p a fo c a l p o in intt o r ju s t a d d s o m e in inte te re s tin g c o lo u r c o n tr traa s t to th e im a g e .
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Fantasy Card Artist
11 B A C K G R O U N D IN F O R M A T IO N D e ta ilils a re r e a n im im p o r ta ta n t p a r t o f w e a p o n d e s ig ig n . A n o r n at a te w e a p o n c o u ld h a v e a f lo w e r y filig re e p a tte rn o r h a rsr s h z ig ig -z a g g in in g r u n e s . I t m a y h a v e e ith e r tin y d e t a ilile d g o ld in tr t r icic a t e l y w o v e n in in to to th e d e s ig n , o r b ig c l u n k y p ie ie c e s o f s t o n e o r m e t al al w e l d e d to t o it. e r h ap a p s th t h e w e a p o n ’s’s o w n e r h a s t ieie d a c h a rm r m to th e h ililt , w r a p p e d a f av av o u ri r ite b a n d an an a a roro u n d th th e g r ip , o r u s e d n o tc h e s c ru d e ly c a r v e d in to th e b la d e to d e n o te e a c h k ill. A ll o f th e s e d e t a ilils a d d f la la v o u r a n d in in te te r e s t t o h o w t h e w e a p o n is p o r tr a y e d .
Ar tis t in s ig h t Weapon design
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T h e s e D a r k E lf w e a p o n s a r e y e t a n o t h e r vi vis a g e o f e vi v il . T h e d e s i g n s h a ve ve a n a n g u la l a r in i n t ri r ic a c y t o t h e m , w it h p a t t e r n s t h a t a re re m o r e g e o m e t ri r ic a lll ly c o m p le x. x. T h e m e t a l e ve ve n l o o s t o b e f o r g e d d if fe f e r e n t ly ly a n d h a s a p u r p lis h b lu lu e h u e t o it . Y o u c a n t e lll l f ro r o m t h e s le le n d e r f o r m s t h a t th th e s e w e a p o n s a r e d e s ig ig n e d m o r e fo fo r s t e a lt lt h a n d s u b t e r f u g e t h a n d ir e c t m l e c o m b a t .
Fantasy Card Artist 1 0
Workshops P otos op
CAPTURE LIGHT AND MAGIC makes the most of a real-life reference model, then demonstr de monstrate atess how how the rig rig ht li lig ht c an evoke a sc scee ne of mag ic al drama n
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A n a v id id g a m e r a n d re re a d e r a s a c h il d , in o n a g r e w u p d r e a m in g o f d e s ig n in in g g a m e c h a ra c te rs a n d p a in tin g fa n ta s y a n d s c i- fi b o o k c o v e rs . S h e fr e e la n c e s in c o n c e p t ar ar t a n d il lu lu s t ra ra t ioio n , a n d w o r k s o n W a rh rh a m m e r c o v e rs rs and c ard art for Magic: th e G a th e rin g . n
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hen a painter captures light well, it’s magical. It takes a two-dimensional image into the realm of threedimensional space. Good light creates such strongmood and emotion that it takes you away from your thoughts thoughts and worries, worries, and grabsyour mind mind for a moment in the world of the illustration. Paintinglight well enough to really connect with your viewer requires close observation of the real world, but you can’t simply stand in front of a mirror
ti sk The value arrangement in your sketch is what indicates your lighting requirements. I’ve decided to surround my figure with light so that she’ll stand out from the rest of the image, but I want another light source in front of her to place her into the the space. In I n the sketch I’ve imagined this as a glowingcauldron, but I feel it it needsmore drama to ill illustrate ustrateher power, so I end up changingit to a fire.
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h e n s h a d in in g n e a r d a rk rk a re re a s I w a n t t o p r e s e r v e , I s e t th th e B r u s h m o d e t o D a r k e n . T h isis a f fe fe c t s o n l y c o lo u rs lig h te r th a n th e o n e y o u ’ re re p a in in ti t i n g w it h . L ig i g h te te n m o d e d o e s t h e o p p o s i tete a n d isis u s e f u l f o r r e m o v in i n g u n w a n te te d d a rk rk a re r e a s s u c h a s l in in e w o r k s h o w in g in a s c a n . C o lo r m o d e i s g r e a t fofo r m a k in in g te m p e ra tu re c h a n g e s w it h o u t c h a n g i n g v a l u e . o t e t h a t t h e B r us us h m o d e s d o n ’t’t w o r k o n tr a n s p a re n t a re a s .
1 0 4 Fantasy Card Artist
and summon a glowingdragon. We illustrators need to becrafty to createand light scenes of magic convincingly. No matter how other otherworldl worldly y the subject of our paintings, we can use real-life tools to make our work dynamic and powerful. The best weapon in our arsenal is the camera. Gettinggood reference is the first step in takinga sketch and turningit into a fully realised scene. This doesn’t require anythingtoo fancy, but spendingthe time and effort to have afri friend end model for you, and replicatingthe costume and
lightingscheme as well as you can, is an investment that pays off in in a major way. Paintingdigitally can tempt you to try a lot of fancy effects and tricks. Don’t let it control you. You need to commit, and to make every decision consciously. Experimentation and exploration can help hel p you generate ideas, but but at some point you have to nail your piece down and take the time to make everything work together or the light light just just won’t look look right. That’s why I keep my files simple and use effects judiciously.
R ef efer eren en ce sho sho I ask a friend to model for me– she’s more than happy to pull faces in front of the camera. With my sketch in hand, I replicate the lightingscheme by havingthe model stand where she’ll be posinglater, and arrange my lights around her. I use a tall lamp for the back light, and a second lamp on the floor for the light of the fire. You want bright light bulbs, especially if your camera isn’t fancy.
o s u m e e le m e n t Costumes don’t have to be perfect. Most of thetime I use a bit of fabric fabric and safety pins. I ask the model to tie her hair back so that her faceisn’t obscured. I al also so take separateshots with her her hair hair down and combine combine the photos later. The same goes for capes and other other costume elements. Don’t attempt to make one perfect shot. Get your elements separately and combine them in Photoshop. S e n se se o f m o t o n To introduce a feelingof motion and life in the reference, I usually start out by talkingto the model about the character she’s portraying. I use my sketch only as inspiration. I look for things that look good when the model is in front of me. I try posingthe model myself, and ask her to feel and remember where her limbs are. I have her relax, and then move quickly into the pose and take the shot in motion.
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After I’v I’vee go gott a sel selectio ection n of of good good sho shots ts that are clos closee to my initi initial al id idea, ea, I ask my friend to try a lot of different motions. To obtain good facial expressions, I then tell her to go ahead and make noise, because it’s hard to fake an expression ex pression without making sounds. You can also take video and use still frames for reference. This way you have a lot of options that you can piece together digitally. digit ally.
I usually work on a single flat layer. laye r. It feels and looks more like traditional mediums this way, and it enables me to paint with my brush in different dif ferent blending modes. I add layers of flat colour at times and change the blending mode to explore e xplore glow effects, but I don’t often separate the layers out to more than tha n a few at a time.
A s s e m le a m o n t a g e of pho tos I go through my photos and select one I’m going to start with. wit h. I may pick a photo with a hea head d I lik likee and then gra grab b arms from another. I select the areas I want and drag them into the reference image, while bein being g care careful ful to kee keep p everythin everything g in proportion. I use the Polygonal Lasso tool and Free Transform a lot at this stage. You can move the t he pivot point to make Free Transf Tr ansform orm eas easier ier..
RESOU RE SOU RC RCES ES
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I t ’s f a c e t im im e With the ref refere erence nce imag imagee open I begin rendering. I often start with the face because it gets me excited about the work, and because it usually takes a few passes before I’m happy with it. I want the sorceress to have exaggerated features, so I apply the darks liberally around the eyes to give her the look of dramatic makeup. ma keup.
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As I ren render der soft area areass such as flesh flesh,, I use simple brushes like a hard-edged Round brush with the Opacity set to Pen Pressure. I keep the light source in mind at all times. In the reference, the light source is a regular light bulb, not fire, so it doesn’t have the hot glow that fire does. This means I’v I’vee go gott to to chang changee the col colour our of the light as I paint.
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I n t r o d u c e t e xt xt u r e I trace some of the lines lightly for placement, print it on watercolour paper and paint on on it with acrylics. I go q uickly, using bristle brushes and a dry brush effect, and I don’t worry about keeping it neat – messy is good. When Whe n I’m done, I photograph it, open it in Photoshop and crop the image to the final dimensions.
1 0 6 Fantasy Card Artist
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For firelight, the brightest areas tend to be hot orange or yellow, with reds in the middle to lower values and the shadows cooler. I keep the values and saturation highest in areas close to the light source, and let them taper off as it gets further away. Especially when I have a brightly coloured light source, I dampen the saturation or change the temperature in some places, so that the painting painti ng doesn’t get monochromatic.
I n D e p th Capture Capture light and magic T h i n k in in p l a n e s When ren renderi dering ng fo form, rm, think abo about ut your sub your subject ject in plan planes, es, and the dire directio ction n that the planes are facing in relation to t he light. The planes that are perpendicular are going to be the brightest, with the light falling away as the form turns and as planes become further away from the light source. Once you start to get the form right, it seems to pop into 3D, and then you can push and pull it with value to make the shape look even more solid.
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To rea really lly check if my for forms ms are turning right, I close one eye and wiggle my head back and forth. It m ight look crazy, but closing one eye will turn your vision visi on fro from m ster stereo eo to mon mono, o, and wiggl wiggling ing yourr hea you head d keeps keeps your bra brain in fro from m lockin locking g down and getting getti ng a handle on what you’re looking at, so it’s easy to trick yourself into converting the screen into a window and your painting into a whole threedimensional space.
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I also have a backlight to deal with – anoth another er are area a wher wheree a littl littlee goe goess a long way. The rim light is so much fun to paint that sometimes you want to put it all the way around the figure! You have to be careful and pay attention to your reference. The rim light can tell us a lot about the form in the way it’s sharp in some places and soft in others.
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Just as with the other light source, the rim light will change in brightness depending on how far the surface is from the light source and on the angles of the planes. At the edge between the shadow and the rim light, a little hot red will really make the flesh look convincing. In some spots, you can make the background just a little darker in value va lue so the rim light pops rather than blending into the background.
G e t it rig h t Because I’ve lit my figure f igure from below, it’s a challenge to make the face look both realistic and attractive. Underlighting can make people look otherworldly, which is why I’ I’m m usin using g it, but it can also make them loo look k mons monstrou trous. s. In ad additi dition, on, I’v I’vee chos chosen en a rather complicated facial expression. Understand where the biggest challenges in your painting are, and hit them hard! Nailing the tough spots makes your work sing.
D o n ’t m a r r y t h e r e fe r e n c e s h o t Some things look fine in a photo but wrong in a pai wrong painti nting ng.. So So,, the sha shado dow w on on her upper lip is important to the expression, but paint it too dark and she has a moustache! Painting the highlight under her nose too bright makes her nose disappear.. I simplify the w rinkles on her disappear cheeks, nose, chin and corners of the eyes, but I retain enough to keep the expression.
Fantasy Card Artist 1 0 7
Workshops P otos op
COMPOSE A GAME CARD CHARACTER reimagines World of Warcraft’s Lady Sylvanas for Blizzard’s c ard g ame am e , ex expl plai aini ning ng his his c olour olour and comp c omposi ositi tion on choi c hoicc e s as a s he g oes oe s g
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C r a ig ig i s a fr e e la n c e c o n c e p t a rt is t, il l u s t r a t o r a n d c h a ra c te r d e s i g n e r f o r a n im im a t ioio n , T V , g a m e s a n d fi fil m s . H e ’ s w o r ke k e d f o r D isi s n e y , D re a m W o r ks a n d a rn rn e r B r o s . , a m o n g o t h e r s . A b o o k o f h isis a r t h a s ju ju s t b e e n re re l e a s e d b y F lel e s k P u b l icic a t ioio n s . t
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aintingtradingcard images for Blizzard is a challenge similar to the ones I face when I’m designingfor a Disney or Blue Sky movie: I need to create a compellingimage, that fits with the style already established by the studio, but at the same time has somethingnew and unique about it. Jugglingthese ngtheseseemingly minglycontradictory elements is the hidden part of designing for other people and companies. When
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES
S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
you’re workingfor yourself these things don’t matter – you can paint paint whatever you want. This is also one of the bigfactors that can separate a professional ional artist arti st from an amateur or non-professional. It’s It’s essential ssential to remember that you’re performinga rminga service, service, trying tryingto to get into the head of the people who are paying paying you to give them what they want. Sometimes they don’t yet know what they want, and and you have to make suggestions until they feel comfortable
with a direction. Other times they have a clear idea, idea, and you need need to tease every bit of that idea idea out of their head beforeyou start. If you leave scraps of their idea with them and don’t draw it out of them, you’ll be surprised when you show the painting and there’s somethingimportant missing which the client wanted! This is the hidden side of concept art. In this article I’ll try to show how this works with the technical part of illustration that we can all see with our eyes.
ee g sketch sketch The first thingI like to do when paintinga painting a figure is create inspirational snippets of hands, facial expressions, composition ideas and suchlike, without worryi worrying ngab about out getting ettinga a final fi nal sketch down on paper. Here I’m really just experimentingwith things, gaininga feel for what it’s like to shoot an arrow and tryingout possible poses, facial expressions and shapes. I like to pick my favourites and clean them to show them to an art director. I choose a direction I like and begin to flesh it out with darker values, refiningthe character’s anatomy and pose as I go.
A n g c o lo u I finish off the sketch with coloured pencils pencils on brown paper by addingsome white to give myself the range of values and an idea of the two main things I want to focus on in the final composition: the arrows and Sylvanas’ upper body. I like to make alterations in Photoshop and try slightly different directions. I’m addinga new background configuration and rock formation, as well as a better cape in this case. Photoshop also enables me to boost the contrast with Dodge and Burn to hel help p get the sketch closer to the final levels of contrast that the paintingwill have.
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1 0 8 Fantasy Card Artist
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Wo W orkshops S e t t in in g u p f o r p a i n t in in g I tint the initial sketch so I’m working in a colour space that’ll be close to the final painting. I make corrections to the image that the art director asked for, such as having the bow and arrows come at the viewer viewer more, more, to place place arrows arrows in a uiver uiver behind behind the the figure figure and add the armour to the legs and shoulders.
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Here I paint out the old arm and a nd bow and sketch in ones that t hat point more at the viewer. I also change the head position to match the new direction of the bow. I’m painting some of the armour, testing and balancing the local colours of the warm purple and white gold armour, as well as the hair. I keep fine-tuning these colours in a few small spots like this until they look like they’re all lit with the same colour and intensity of light. In this case the t he light is a cool lavender-blue. I choose this colour so her skin, the light itself and the environment are all in harmony. Contrary to popular belief, shadows aren’t always cooler than the light side – especially when the light itself is cool. This is best seen in this painting on the purples in her armour where the cool light is desaturating the purple in the light side, making it greyer.
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It’s important to always keep the whole painting in mind, and what you’re trying to achieve with w ith it. To this end, I go back and make ma ke some changes to the composition to work work with the new figure figure pose better, better, adjus adjusting ting the overall overall lightin lighting g and focal point point to be closer to what the final will be. I also change the cloak to be a bit more energetic and more complementary to the curves of Sylvanas’ figure. I sometimes spend half my time on an illustration just getting these little rough things right, so that when I put my foot on the gas and start making things look real, everything is in the right place, in the right colour and is drawn correctly.
S t a r t i n g t o b r in in g t h in in g s t o g e t h e r Here I further fine-tune the values in the background so the figure and arrows (not in place yet) will wi ll be the two things that stand out most. I also begin to tint the previously monochromatic legs with the colours that her armour will be in the end. I always try to jump around catching things that aren’t matching the level of finish that other parts have. This ensures that I have a pretty good idea of where the painting is going as a whole, and I can make composition changes if I see things drifting off the rails. If I were to focus on just painting the legs, for example, finishing them first, I might find they are totally the w rong colour, or or the shape isn’t pleasing compared to the ones I paint later. It would be frustrating and a waste of time. Working up the image im age as a whole avoids these costly mistakes.
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1 1 0 Fantasy Card Artist
F in a l c o lo u r s and shapes I work up most of the figure, and her arrows, into what I consider a mid-stage block-in. All the local colours, like the purple armour, the maroon cape and hat, black leggings and bluish skin, are finally right. I add highlights and begin to render some parts more finely, like the metal on her top. I block in her face as well, using the colours that work well in her belly area. This is one of the rare times I use layers (other (ot her than to separate separate the figure and background). background) . I find many more more layers just slow me down. I might paint, say, a weapon on a separate layer, so I can focus on that. But after I’m done with that element I’ll almost always merge the weapon weapon onto onto the layer layer the figure figure occupies occupies..
In Depth Compose a game card F in a l t o u c h e s I add, mostly very subtle, fixes and refinements all over the painting, finding little things and fi xing them. I add more colour variation to parts of Sylvanas, like her cloak, armour and skin, with the same Color or Hue mode brush as I did in step 9. I also add a magical glow around parts of her body that are exposed, so she seems more like the magical being she is.
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M is s in g p i e c e s I paint in the f inal missing piece: a maddeningly complicated bow. I’m I’m given reference shots from various angles by Bli zzard, but the models used in t he game are relatively low resolution, so there’s a lot of guesswork and invention with something like this. Thankfully, there’s a vinyl figure of this character with her bow, so I go and buy one. With some plasticine and tape I’m able to set up the vinyl fig ure next to my monitor and add some light from my lamp lamp illuminating it f rom the same angle as it is in the painting. I paint each piece over my initial perspective sketch as if I were painting a still life. It doesn’t matter if I’m painting a bowl of apples or a vinyl figure’s bow – it’s the same procedure.
A r a f t o f r e fin e m e n t s Digital brushes have a tendency to create the same level of softness when you use them, so this needs to be countered. Some edges are softened further, and others are sharpened. I spend a good amount of time doing this in the background. This variety adds to the sense of realism in the final background and makes it look more like it’s done with real paint. I also add some colour colour variation. I do this by changing t he mode of my brush to Color or Hue and picking a colour that’s slightly different from the one I’m trying try ing to put variations into. I use the HSB sliders on the Color palette when I work, so I can tweak the Hue or Saturation to achieve this kind of colour variation.
F in a l c a r d i m a g e The final trading card shows shows how the art directors at Blizzard crop the image to best explain the action described on the card itself. I always like to give them more art than they need so they have the freedom to choose how to crop things. T his also enables them to use the bigger image later for a banner, box cover or poster, if the y want.
S o f t e n in in g u p I soften the bowstring, the overall outline and things like hair and feathers. The softening softening around the figure figure avoi avoids ds that cut-out look and makes the figure look part of the world she’s in. I also add armour and clothing, as well as more hair and bits of detail everywhere. Here again I jump around tr ying to keep the whole painting at the same level of finish. I also refine the face and expression. e xpression. Her expression was a little wooden and I want her to have a wry, superior and confident expression while still being sexy. I also add a bit of bounce light from her red eyes, to give her a slightly more evil touch.
t n e m n i a t r e t n E d r a z z i l B
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F a n t a sy s y C a rd r d A r ti t i st st
In Depth Capture the drama P otos op
CAPT CAPTURE THE THE DR AMA IN IN A SCENE The T he te nse showdow show dow n betw be tw e e n É owy ow y n the shi s hiee ld- mai ma ide n and the e v il W itchtc h-ki king ng in Tol Tolki kiee n’s n’s Re R e turn of the King King is vi v isual sua lise d by a
RR Tolkien’s work is famous for its richness when describing a character’s feelings and the emotion of a scene. His sensitivity for storytelling makes ma kes it possible for readers to imagine his heroes, villains and locations in great detail. Whether it’s the majestic eternal clash between bet ween good and evil, or a classic home-loving scene from Hobbiton, the author’s work is a never-ending inspirational inspirational source that has set a precedent in both fantastic literature and the world of illustration.
Éowyn versus the Witch-king may be one of the most intense and frequently depicted encounters from The Lord of the Rings. In t his workshop I’d like to do my own version of that particular scene while explaining my painting process. I’ll cover technical and composition aspects, and touch on techn iques related to storytelling. Art is about about interpretation, interpretation, and so so it’s always possible to adapt the source material to achieve a better visual result. However, it’s important to respect the
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basics of the story, because this in turn will enable enable the viewer viewer to recall the the emotion they felt when they first read Tolkien’ Tolkien’s vivid prose. As well as researching armour, swords swords and aspects of medieval life, I encourage you to read up on the Lady of Rohan and the Witch-king, as well as study the chapter from The Lord of the Rings in which these two characters famously meet. After doing this I’m sure you’ll come up with some cool ideas of your own. Okay, let’s go to work!
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These four sketches sketches are are simpl simplee tonal schemes in which you can see the different relationship between the figure and the background. Because my image is outdoors and Éowyn will be wearing dark clothes, I choose the fir st one. Notice how the darkest shape on the bottom creates c reates a base for the figure, which pops out of the light background and gives it a cleaner outline. Despite looking basic, it’s a good indication of the direction I intend to take. t ake. sk tch
I start with a simple line sketch to place the main figure and elements. It doesn’t need to be perfect because it’ll be lost at some point. I look for a cool composition and pose that connect to the story behind the scene. I try to find an engaging silhouette for the main character that combines diagonal elements. I also think about what I’m going to paint in the fore-, mid- and background.
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During the painting process, bear in mind that the illustration must work as a whole. Avoid Avoid concentra concentrating ting on on a particular area before you’ve decided on the general tones, lights and shadows. To create the scene’s dusty mood I paint some blurry colours in neutral brown tones. This helps to get rid of the blank canvas, and gives me a sense of an epic battlefield.
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o rk s h o p s C r e a t i n g m a s ks ks I s e t u p s o m e m a s k s t h a t e n a b l e m e to to s e l e c t d i ff ffe r e n t a re re a s o f th e p ic tu tu r e q u i c k l y an an d e a s ilil y . I th th e n s t ar ar t to a d d s o m e c o l o u r v a r ia ia titio n s i n g re re e n t o p o p t h e m a in in c h a r ac ac te te r o u t.t. o w I n e e d to to th i n k o f a c o o l c o s t u m e d e s ig n . Fo Fo r th a t,t, I re re c o m m e n d u s i n g re re f e re re n c e s to m ake it m o re credible. D iff ifferent materials materials such as m etal, leathe leathe r and and fab ric s , in co n ju n c tio n w ith s k in o r h air, ai r, w il l c re ate v is u al in te re s t.
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É o w y n ’s ’ s p o r t ra ra i t Eve ry illus illus trat ratio n h as a fo cal po int th at gr ab s th e v ie w e r’s in itial atte n tio n , s u c h as a b rig h t are a o r th e fac f ac e o f th e m ain ain ch aract aracter. er. G et th th is right right and yo u’ve w o n h a l f th e b a tt ttl e . T h e g e n e r a l lolo o k o f th e p ain tin g s e e m s o k ay s o far, far , s o it’s tim e to s tar t w ith th e m ain c h arac ar ac te r. P u t yo u rs e l f in É o w y n ’s s itu atio n . Fac in g u p to a N az g l is an y th in g b u t fun fu n , s o o u r s h ie ld -m aid e n s h o u l d l o o k s c are ar e d , b u t s til l b e au tifu l . W ith th is in m in d I d e p ic t h e r fa ce ce w ith a w id e - o p e n m o u th th , b i g e ye s an d s l igh ig h tly tl y ra is e d e y e b ro w s .
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If yo yo u’ve read read the the Bat Batttle o f the elen no r Fi Fields ch apter apter,, yo yo u’ll kno w that it’s a h o r ri rif y in in g l o c a titio n w h e r e th th e e l e m e n tsts p l ay ay a k e y r o l e . I d e c id id e to to p a in in t s o m e s m o k e a n d c lo u d s , an d h av in g h e r cl o th e s a n d h air b lo w in g in th e w in d ac h ie v e s a n icic e v i s u a l r h y th th m . N o tic e h o w a l l th e s e e l e m e n t s lele a d u s toto th e m a in in fofo c a l p o in t: o w y n . C h e c k in g o u t ro m an tic p ain te rs s u c h as Tu rn e r m ay h e lp yo u h e re !
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E nv vii r o n m e n t e l e m e n t s I t’t’s t im im e to i n tr tr o d u c e th th e e l e m e n t s o n t h e g roro u n d . U s i n g th e C l o n e S t am am p to o l , I d u p l ic ic a tete s o m e w e e d s a n d s to to n e s f ro ro m a re re a l p h o to , m a k i n g s u r e th th a t th e y m a tc tc h t h e p e rs p e c tiv e a n d l ig h t dir e c tio n . Th e n I p ain t so m e o b je c ts in th e fo re g ro u n d , fo r th re e m a in in r e a s o n s . Fi Fi rsrs t , it’ l l c rere a tete m o r e s e n s e o f d e p t h i n th th e i m a ge ge . S e c o n d , b e c a u s e I ’m ’m p ain tin g th e m in d ark ar k to n e s it’l l s e ttle d o w n th e c o m p o s itio n . Th ird , it g iv e s th e v ie w e r m o re info info rm atio atio n abo ut the b att attle’s fero fero city. city.
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I n D e p th Capture Capture the drama
V is u a l is in g t h e a r m o u r Painting metal is tricky and it usually gives some coolness to an illustration. To achieve achieve a good good metall metallic ic surface surface you should should remembe rememberr that it reflects reflects surround surrounding ing colours, as well as highlights and shadows. I start by setting up a few tones that match the light scheme. Then I continue painting with a Soft brush to blend the colours, before adding some texture in a medium opacity Soft Light layer. Finally I paint over the armour to make it look more “art y”. y” .
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The same same is true for for the backg backgro round und.. The atmosp atmospher heree is made made up of air and dust, so an object’s contrast is reduced the further it is from the viewer. Try to be subtle and paint the sense of something rather than the thing itself. For painting distant mountains, scattering and colour dynamics options come in useful because bec ause they may provide you with pleasing colour colour variation effects. Don’t Don’t try tr y this approach approach every where, though, and consider the general appearance of your painting.
O n to t h e sw o rd Painting swords and spears is ideal for creating obvious diagonals that will fit the composition nicely. nice ly. I introduce a design in the hilt that makes reference to Rohan (the two horses that are facing each other) . As for the blade, blade, I select the area and then paint some gradients. Rotating the canvas and using Shift with the Pen tool while painting with the Photoshop blending brushes enables me to easily achieve a decent sword effect.
T h e W it c h - in g When painting painting any kind of beast beast you should should think about about real real creature creatures. s. Nature is the best designer and gives give s us brilliant references. The Witch-king rides a nasty and slimy flying creature, so I need to understand how animals such as reptiles, birds or even fish look. The rider is the secondary figure in the background, so I avoid detailing him too much and keep his contrast levels down, otherwise he’ll appear too close to the viewer.
U s e t e xt xt u r e s w i s e l y Just as with your colours, hues and saturation, you should find a balance in your textures. A repetitive texture element may lead to a boring image. To counter this, try to combine different finishes. For instance, metal is usually strong and rigid, which implies sharp edges. In contrast, hair or robes are fluffy and delicate, which necessitates painting them using softer brush strokes. Notice what happens with the sky and the ground when I do this.
Fantasy Card Artist 1 1 5
o rk s h o p s o w y n ’s ’s c o a t o f a r m s M i n o r e l e m e n t s s u c h a s c o a to f a rm rm s o n a s u i t o f a rm rm o u r o r a s h i e l d c an an actually actually tell tell u s m o re abo ut a character. character. B e c a u s e É o w y n ’s’s s h i e l d i s n ’t’t fa c in in g th th e v i e w e r , th e o n e t h a t’t’s l y i n g o n t h e gro g ro u n d is i s an al te rn ativ e a re a in w h ic h to p ain ai n t s o m e h e ra ld ic e l e m e n ts . S o I s tar t des igning a sim sim p le silho uette uette that’ that’s r e m i n i s c e n t o f a h o r s e . Th Th e n I tr tr an an s f o r m and m atch atch it w ith the sh ield ’s p ersp ective ective . Finally, inally, I se lect that that sh ape and p aint aint itit o n a n e w l a ye ye r u s i n g a c u s t o m b r u s h t h a t imp arts arts a d irty, irty, irregu irregu lar tete xture.
P a y a t t e n t io n t o t h o s e d e t a i ls Sm all detai detailsls can m ake the the d iff ifferen ce b e tw e e n a ra ra th th e r g o o d i l l u s tr tr at atio n a n d a m a g n if if iicc e n t o n e . H o w fa r to g o w ith t h e m is a p e r s o n a l d e c i s ioio n , b u t r e m e m b e r th th a t s o m e tim e s l e s s is m o re . To d e p ic t de tail s a n d p o l isis h e d s u r fa fac e s I ’ d r e c o m m e n d z o o m in g in to th e im i m ag e a n d o u t o f it regularly, ch eck ing th th at yo ur de tailing ailing is w o rk i n g u p c l o s e a s w e l l as as f roro m a d i s ta ta n c e . I n a d d it itio n , I u s e th e L a s s o a n d a l o w o p a c it ity b r u s h b e t w e e n 1 5 an an d 2 0 p e r ce n t) to ac h ie v e c le an s h ap e s w ith s h ar p e d ge s . Th is w il l g iv e th e s e n s e o f a m o re finishe finishe d illustrat illustratio io n.
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D etailing etailing m ay b e the the to ugh es t p art o f the p ainti ainting ng p ro ces s, but if yo u bite bite the the b u l l e t it’ l l b e w o r th th i t w h e n y o u p r in in t o u t y o u r im im a ge ge . I k e e p w o r k in in g o n th th e c h a in in m a ilil , s h o u l d e r p ad an d h air , try in g to m ak e th e s e e l e m e n ts v is u al l y ric r ic h e r. Th is w o n ’t b e to o diffi difficult cult b ecaus e the the re’s re’s a go go o d bas e in place. That’ That’s w hy it’ it’s imp o rtant rtant fo r em p has ising ising th e g e n e ral ra l l o o k o f th e im i m ag e . It I t al s o e n ab le s m e to fin d d iffe re n t nu an c e s w ith o u t l o s i n g th th e s e n s e o f u n i ty ty .
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E n h a n c e th e a tm o s p h e r e Finally, inally, I add so m e sm all details details like like b l o o d a n d d irir t to m a k e th th e s c e n e m o r e b elievab le. I use a So ft Light layer and p ain ai n t in a d ar k re r e d c o lo u r aro u n d th e s h o u l d e rs , ch c h e s t o r ch c h e e k b o n e s . I th e n s tre n g th e n th e h ig h l ig h ts o n a n e w S o ft Ligh t layer, but th th is time time us ing bright ye l lo w . Th is g iv e s th e im i m p re s s io n th at o w y n isi s i lll l u m i n at ate d b y d i v in in e g o l d e n light, light, w h ich w ill co ntrast ntrast w ith ith the ev il c re atu re in th e b ac k g ro u n d .
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Fantas antas y C ard ard A rtist rtist
F in a l c o lo u r a d u s t m e n t s h e n y o u ’v’v e b e e n b u s y w o rk i n g o n a n im im a g e fofo r a l e n g th th y p e r ioio d o f tim e , it’s s o m e tim e s d iffic iff ic u lt to s e e th in g s th at are n ’t u ite r ig h t. I re co m m e n d l e av in g a p ain ai n tin g fo r a co u p l e o f da y s b e fo re c o n tin u in g to p l ay w ith l ig h t an d c o lo u r ad ju s tm e n ts . I u s e L a y e r > e w A d ju ju s t m e n t L a y e r > S e l e c t iviv e C o l o r d u r i n g th e f in in a l s ta ta ge ge s o f m y p a i n titi n g p ro c e s s . It m ay r e v e al a co m p l e te l y d iffe re n t as p e c t to y o u r im ag e . Try Tr y it!
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U S E L IG H T A N D R A N SL U C E N C Y Fa ntasy arti Fan artist st H o w a r d L y o n explores clouds, skin and c lothi othing ng as he takes t akes yo you u on an artisti artisticc journ ourney ey ve w orked or qu
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Howard studied illustration at Brigham Young Univer Uni ver sity. Afte r 13 year s in the video g ame industry in dustry he now focuse s on illustration illustration and fine art .
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My paintings start out as small thumbnails. Often they’re of no use whatsoev whatsoever er to anyone anyone but myself. myself. Even my wife, who has seen more of my rough work work than anyone anyone,, often often can’t can’t tell what things are at this stage. In this case, it was a scribble on a sticky note and scanned in, with a little little more more work work done done in Painter Painter..
D ra w i n g Once my basic composition is resolved, I move on to a more detailed drawing. For this, I gather reference and if there is a figure or figures in the painting, I find the right model and schedule a photo shoot. Nearly all of the artists that I’ve admired from the past either had excellent photography photography (Norm an Rockwell, Maxfield Max field Parrish and Tom Tom Lovell Lovell come come to mind) mind) or they used live models. models.
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I used to think thin k that I should be able to draw anything accurately without any reference. It led to a lot of frustration over the years. When I started to shoot my own reference and learned how to use it Norman Rockwell: Rockw ell: Illustrator is the second best book on illustration I have in my collection) , my work really started to move forward. That being said, don’t follow your reference with rigidity. r igidity. It’s only a guide – you’re the artist making the decisions, not your reference!
A n c h o r t h e id e a T h e S m e a ry R o u n d b ru ru s eaked by ntrod ucing tter an d c
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C o lo u r w a s h The first thing I decid decidee is the colour colour or tempera temperature ture of the light light in my painting painting.. There There are multipl multiplee sources, sources, the torch torch and the sun, and the tempera temperature ture of the light light will be warm on the right-hand side, where the sun is, and then shift towards cooler colours across the landscape. The torch fire will provide a second warm light on the girl in the foreground, providing a colour contrast against the cooler background. The colour at this point is simple, but it’s a key point in any painting. W ith digital tools it’s easier to make a course correction, but it’s still better to try and start out on the right foot.
P a i n t in g c l o u d s
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Back to the drawing. Parts of it are more developed than others. I don’t need to draw ever y cloud or blade of grass, just enough to solidify my ideas and give me an anchor as I paint.
1 0 Fantasy Card Artist
Clouds are so versatile. You can paint t hem almost any colour, c olour, dark or light, and just about any shape – they’re a compositional wild card. Clouds can also be tricky to paint, though. You have to keep in mind that they have form. If you struggle with clouds, remember this: they have a light side and dark side. They’re also reflective and translucent at times. As artists, we can use this to great effect when creating motion in our compositions.
Brushes My favourite brush in Painter is the Smeary Round, which is found among the Oil brushes. I change the Dab Type Type from from Camel Camel Hair to Circular Circular and that’s about it. I then make a variant of this brush by adding a little jitter and colour variability. I save the variants out as My Smeary Round and Smeary Round Jitter. I use these two brushes to paint 9 per cent cent of my painting. painting. I’ll use the Airbrush Airbrush a little, little, the Glow Glow brush brush when called for, and sometimes add texture with the Chalk. Beyond Beyond that, not many other brushes get used.
I n D e p th Using Using light
Layers I don’t have many layers. If I should need to make a new selection and lift something out of the background, it doesn’t take much time. And I find working with the edges much easier when the different elements are on the same layer. Here, on the horizon, once I merged the sky and landscape layers, getting the right blending and mixing of colours is much easier. This usually means I work back to front, and have three layers: background, middle-ground and foreground. I collapse them as I work. By this point I have two layers: the figure in the foreground and the background.
P a i n t in i n g f le le s h My approach to skin is much the same as my approach to clouds. Remember the form, observe the opacity, translucency and reflections, reflect ions, and you’re going going to be on the right track. The more time tim e you can spend spend painting painting from from life, life, the better better you’ll you’ll underst understand and how to paint flesh. Make slow and studied observations when you do. No human is all one colour. There are many different shifts across the body where there’s more fatty tissue, or thinner t hinner skin, or stubble. Be on the lookout for those changes in the temperature temperatu re of the skin and your figures will be all the better for it.
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Once I finish a painting, I like to let it sit for a day if I can. I f ind I come back to it with fresh eyes and renewed energy. In this case, I see that my colours have been too saturated and are stealing steali ng attention away from our protagonist. I also feel her pose could use some adjustments. Small changes and little pockets of detail go a long way towards the finish. A few little flower blossoms, hints of grass blades against the rock, and defining defini ng the edges of a few stones here and there go a long way towards convincing the viewer that there’s lots of rich detail. On to the next painting!
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I realise that my sun sunset set is going to steal the show away from my protagonist and her nifty nift y torch. The bright yellow sunset is too strong. So it has to go. While the colours still stay warmer on the right, I knock the sun down with some clouds and change the colours. As the painting progresses, you’ll see how important this change was. It isn’t always easy to make big changes, but if your gut keeps nagging at you, then the n do it.
P a i n t i n g f a b r ic ic Painting cloth is all about patience. Slow and steady observations get me where I want to be. When I start to rush, rush, things get out of hand. You want to be aware of the folds and the form at the same time. When you do this, the wrinkles and creases and folds will help you describe the forms underneath.
Fantasy Card Artist 1 1
Workshops P otos op
REWORK AN ICONIC CARD CHARACTER mixess fantasy, mang a and me c h te mixe tecc h to produc producee an ange lic fig fi g ure ure w ho look lookss e ual uallly g ood sc al alee d up or on the fron frontt of a c ard s
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he chosen subject for this workshop is a female warriorangel character. ImagineFX asked meto produce an iconic iconi c standalone picture that looks equally good at card size and at larger dimensions such as a magazi azine ne cover. I decided that a straightforward, graphic approach to the composition will work better than an image that has a busy backgroun round d and distractingperspective. A female angel is i s an iconic, eyecatchingand seductive figure who usually appeals to a large audience. I think of this artwork as if it’s part of a new set of an established establi shed card game. The character character needs a strongvisual design because she’s a huge part of the storyline behind the game, and will be settingthe tone of the
new product. I want to combine people’s expectations of traditional angels with a distinctive, refreshingand modern vision. My aim is to develop a mix of popcultural references, dark fantasy elements, manga and mecha. In In essence, she needs to appeal to a 16-ye 1 6-year-old female who loves fantasy art. For a backstory, I imagine there’s a caste of female heralds who have pale, albinolike skin, and who are each linked to a particular fantasy archetype: the classic armoured warrior, steampunk huntress, fantasy angel, manga icon, and so on. All of them lose one arm when they become a herald, which is replaced by an oversized artificial limb. Okay, this is my startingpoint – let’s see where it takes takes me…
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A lw l w a ys ys k e e p a n e y e o n h e n p e o p l e a s k m e fo fo r a p i e c e o f a r ti t is t i c a d v i c e , I te te l l t h e m t h a t t h e k e y w o r d is p e r s e v e r a n c e . o u a lsls o n e e d th th e a b il itit y to lo o k a t y o u r w o rk w it h f re re s h e y e s , a n d toto a n a ly ly s e y o u r c re r e a t iviv e p ro c e s s a n d a lw a y s l e a r n f roro m it .
S ket ketches ches and no es I usually begin in my sketchbook. After readingthe client brief, I fill pages with notes and quick doodles. Making Maki ngconnections, connections, keywords, references… thi this s is the fun part for every project. I like developingoriginal ideas at this stage, and in doingso avoid sufferingfrom creative block while sat in front of my computer.
1 2 2 Fantasy Card Artist
y ke y em en My goal in this rough sketch is to quickly nail the main elements of my composition – an angel on a neutral background. I want to finalise the look of the wings, the light values, a big mechanical arm and the beginningof the mood. I realise it’ll work better with high key lightingand that a close-up on the character is best.
S ket ketch ch ap oval I send this colour sketch to the Imagin magineFX eFX team. Because the imag image has to work as a cover, I keep the magazine’s layout on the topof my layers, so I can check how it’s workingas a whole. The final goal isn’t only to produce a full-page illustration but a magazine cover, which has to work with typographic elements. We choose to zoom in, in, so that the character occupies more space in the frame. The face is now bigger and acts as a focal point.
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F an asy asy C ard A
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S e t c h in g o u t e a c h e le m e n t A f tete r I ’v’v e f ilil l e d s o m e p a ge ge s i n m y s k e tch tc h b o o k , I l o o k at a t th e i n d iv id u al s k e tch tc h e s , m ak e a s e l e c tio n an d d o an o th e r s e rie s b as e d o n th e m . My M y c h ar ac te r is a n o b l e a n d w e a ltl th y S p y m a s te te r . S u c h a p e rs o n s e n d s s e c re t m e s s ag e s , an d h o m i n g p ig e o n s a r e b e s t fo r th th a t.t. H e ’s’s a n in i n c o n s p ic u o u s l o n e r w h o m a y h av av e to d e fe n d h im s e l f, s o h e n e e d s a d ag ge r. H e c a rr rr ieie s o u t a s s a s s i n a titio n j o b s , fofo r w h i c h h e u s e s a p o is o n r in in g . H e ’ s al al s o a n o b s e r v e r , s o h e n e e d s b i n o c u l ar ar s , m a p s , and o the r eq uipm ent that ch aract aracterise erise h i m . S u c h d e t ai ail s t e l l p a r tsts o f h i s s to to r y. y.
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T ading card card gam es show a variety of subjects subj ects:hum :hum ans, on sters ers,ani ,ani als,odd creatures,l creat ures,land scap es, em s and such ne ed
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To e m p h a s isis e t h e p e r s o n a l itity o f m y c h ar ac te r, I o fte n l ik e to u s e s y m b o l is m . T h i s isis a go go o d a n d e a s y w a y to g iv iv e t h e p ain tin g d e p th o f co n te n t. Th e m ain ai n r o l e o f th e s p y isis to to o b s e r v e , to h a v e h i s e y e s e v e r y w h e re . Th e re fo re I c h o o s e th e e y e s y m b o l th at I w an t to in c o rp o rate in to h is c lo th e s . A g o o d p l ac e fo r th is is th e b e lt, b e c a u s e p l a c in in g th th e e y e o n th th e c h e s t w o u ld l d b e toto o o b v ioio u s .
C h o o s in in g t h e r i g h t background o w I as as k m y s e l f w h a t k in in d o f e n v iro n m e n t w o u l d a S p y m as te r b e b e s t p r e s e n t e d in in ? I k e e p th i n k i n g o f th e n ar rativ e v al u e o f th e s ce n e . H is jo b is to o b s e r v e , an d h is in fl u e n c e c o v e rs th e e n tire c ity – p o s s ib l y e v e n b e y o n d th at. T h e re r e fo f o r e , h e h a s a g o o d v i e w o f th e e v e n ts in th e c ity. H e s e e s th e h ar b o u r a n d o b s e r v e s t h e in in c o m in g an an d o u tg tg o i n g tra ffic , th e tr av e l le rs an d b u s in e s s e s . Es se ntially, ntially, he fee ls the p uls e o f the c ity.
M e rg in g t he c o m p o s it i t io io n A l l m y in in d i v id id u a l e l e m e n t s a n d c h arac ar ac te r ide id e as are ar e n o w fin al is e d in in m y m i n d . N e x t , I b r in in g th th e m t o g e th th e r i n a r o u g h l y s k e t c h e d f in in a l c o m p o s i titio n . T h e c o n f id id e n t p o s t u re re , th th e e l e g a n t g o w n and the the res t o f h is clo the s su gges t that th e S p y m as te r is o f no b le o rig in . H e ’s s u rro rr o u n d e d b y a ra n ge o f o rn ate e u ip m e n t th at ch arac ar ac te ris e s h im an d h is day-t day-to -day acti actio ns . At th is p o int in th e c re ativ e p ro ce s s I c an u s u al l y s e e i f th e in i n d iv id u al id e as w o rk w e l l to ge th e r and tell tell a co he rent sto ry.
1 6
Fantasy antasy C ard ard A rtist rtist
I n D e p th Tell Tell a story s a n
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C h o o s in g m y c o lo u r s
C o l l e c t in i n g r e f e r e n c e m a t e r ia ia l s The degree degree of realis realism m that that I strive strive for for in my paintin paintings gs relies relies on phot photo o materia materiall which I can refere reference nce while while I’m I’m painting painting.. Meanwhil Meanwhile, e, I know know my my Spymast Spymaster’ er’ss characte characterr and his story. The photo serves as a basis for the preliminary draw ing, which I refine until it fits my m y imagination. A Spymaster who w ho doesn’t look look like one would ruin the story.
D r a w i n g i n d e t a il il Based on my rough composition sketch and my reference materials I create a detailed preliminary drawing. At this point I make sure that all the narrative details, such as the dagger, the homing pigeons, the message in the hand, the poison-ring, the map and so forth can easily be identified. They need to be obvious to the viewer.
Colours have a direct effect on the viewer‘s viewer‘s emotion emotionss and instantly instantly develo develop p an association. That’s That ’s why I pay a lot of attention to the choice of colour. My Spymaster is a wealthy nobleman and the blue colour symbolises nobility. The use of gold decoration gives the painting the impression of wealth and class. I also opt for a bright, clear light and colour mood. My spy is a master maste r in his field. He doesn’t need to operate in the dark.
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P a i n t in in g a n d r e v i e w After I finish finish the painting, painting, I put put it aside aside for for a few days and then have a fresh look at it. I check again whether the expression, ambience and narration are good and consistent. I retouch retouc h some areas to optimise them. Then I look at the painting and the character, and I‘m glad to see he begins to tell me his story of the legendary and notorious Edric, Spymaster of Trest…
Fantasy Card Artist 1 7
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F ant antas asy y C ard A
In Depth Tell a story P otos op
TELL A STORY TEL WITH AN IMA MAG GE A pp ppllibot illustrato ustratorr lays out the the pr proce oce ss he uses to create artwork artw ork for the onli online c ard g ame Le Leg g e nd of the Crypti Cry ptids ds o
ne of the things I’ve learned from working on Applibot’s Legend of the Cryptids line is the importance of being able to tell a story through an illustration. With Applibot’ Applibot’s appetite appetite for success, the art has to appeal to a wide audience who may be unfamiliar with the Cryptids brand, which in turn might be the push they need to try out the game. Therefore, Therefo re, before drawing even a rough rough sketch, I read the description of the scene carefully and imagine what’s happening to the character. The premise of the scene
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is that a young warrior is desperately seeking out a miracle cure that’s somewhere at the top of a giant tree, in order to heal his sick mother. I want to make the f igure as heroiclooking as possible – hopefully he’ll become an iconic card character. To tie in with the tree theme, theme, he’ll wield wield an axe rather than a sword. Picturing him mid way up the the giant giant tree, tree, high abov abovee the clouds, will increase the feeling of peril and drama in the scene, which should further engage the viewer. Okay, enough talk – let’s get to work!
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES
S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
ck sketch sketch
I draw a quick sketch of a giant tree reaching up into the sky. I consider the diameter of the tree, how it grows and its appearance. It should be a solid structure that can be climbed without using ropes. My character is a young warrior, and I decide to depict him bare-chested after seeing some reference photos of rock climbers. As well as being dangerously high up the tree, there’s added drama from the small dragon that’s attacking him. The scene will be well lit because it takes place high above the clouds.
o n o c h ro m e sk sk e tc h
I draw the character, monster and objects in the background all in blackand-white. Darker colours on the edges of the image and lighter colours towards the centre help to create the focal point, which is is where where the the struggle in the sky is taking place. I use greyish colours on the background because I want to soften the contrast between black and white. As a result, I make this grey area the most eye-catching area in this illustration. I use the strong backlight to help make the atmosphere perspective pop off the page.
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I create a Multiply layer and choose a base colour by using the Gradient tool. Then I apply this using using the Paint Bucket tool. Next, I create an Overlay layer and use a light colour to highlight the differences between the objects.
Fantasy Card Artist 1 2 9
o rk s h o p s R a is in g t h e c o n t ra s t I n o w c r e at ate a n O v e r l ay ay l ay ay e r , th e n a d d co co l o u r s toto th e d a r k s id id e o f o b j e c tsts a n d b r ig ig h t s i d e o f th e b a c k g roro u n d b e c a u s e I w ant to accentua accentuatte the the co ntr ntrast ast b etw ee n th e m . Th e n , o n an o th e r O v e rl ay l ay e r I add the the reflect reflected ed light o n the dark side o f o bjects. I rep rep eat th is stage, stage, but th th is tim e r e d u ce th e O p ac ity to 6 p e r ce n t, to ac h ie v e th e r ig h t am o u n t o f co n tra s t b e t w e e n t h e d u e l l in in g c h a r ac ac te te r s a n d th e b ac k g ro u n d . s
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It’s no t eas y toto creat It’ createe an image w it ithh lo ts o f e l e m e n t s an an d k e e p th e m i n b a l an an c e . I adv adv ise b eing patien patien t and th th inking be fo re m a k in in g y o u r n e x t b r u s h s t roro k e . I al al w a y s s e arc h fo r re fe re n ce im ag e s fo r d e p ic tin g th e te x tu re o f o b je c ts , an d th e n u s e diffferent light dif light sp o ts to un if ifyy all the the v a ri rio u s e l e m e n tsts .
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C o l o u r s ke ke t c h I create create a ne w Multi Multipp ly layer and and c h o o s e th e G rad ie n t toto o l a n d P ain t B u c k e t to o l toto p a in in t th e b a s e c o l o u r . T h e n I c re re a tete a n O v e r la la y a n d C o l o r D o d g e l ay ay e r toto h i g h l i g h t th e b a s i c c o l o u r o f th e c h ar ac te r an d b ac k g ro u n d . U s in g th e s e l ay ay e r s b o o s tsts th th e b a s e c o l o u r , s o to c o n tr tr o l th e b rig h tn e s s o f th is co l o u r I ad ju s t the O p a c itity u s i n g a s o f t b r u s h .
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C olour twea s Y o u c o u l d a lsl s o a d ju ju s t th e c o l o u r u s in in g th th e o p tio n s w ith i n a Fil l o r A d ju ju s t m e n t l a ye ye r . I c h o o s e V ib r a n c e fr fr o m th e “ C r e at ate n e w Fi llll o r A d ju ju s t m e n t l a ye ye r ” p o p -u p to tw e a k th th e s a tu tu r at atio n . I a l s o u s e th e S e l e c ti tiv e C o l o r m e n u . I s e t u p m y c o l o u r p a l e tt tte a s H S B s l id id e r s – it it’s a qu ick w ay toto adj adjus us t the p urit urityy o f co lo ur and saturat saturatiio n in the the im age.
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Fant antasy asy C ar ardd A rt rtist ist
C h a r a c t e r a c c e s s o r ie ie s A t th i s p o i n t I n e e d toto th i n k m o r e abo ut the ch ara aract cter’ er’ss clo thing. I decide to g iv e h im s o m e p ro te c tiv e g e ar – th e s h ar p e n e d m e tal p l ate s ar aroo u n d h is le g s a n d l o w e r a rm rm s – b u t I ’m ’m m i n d fu fu l th th a t h e s til l n e e d s th e f re e d o m an d f le x ib il ity to b e a b l e toto c l im im b t h e tr tr e e . Th Th i s i s w h y I c h o o s e to c lo th e h im in fab ric tro u s e rs , w ith l e a th th e r b e l tsts i n c l u d e d fo r v i s u a l i n tete r e s t . E l s e w h e r e in in t h e s c e n e , I p a y a tt tte n t ioio n t o th e g r ad ad a titio n o f co co l o u r s o n d if iffferen t layers.
I n D e p th Tell Tell a story A d ust the a tm o s p h e r e
D e p t h a n d vo lu m e I add gnarly details to the tree trunk in the mid-ground to show its almost menacing bulk. Then I create more layers and paint a range of different elements such as clouds and the land far below, which enhances the depth between the background and foreground.
I copy the character and the dragon using the Lasso tool onto the new layer. After that I create a new layer based on the original one. This enables me to use the t he Paint Bucket tool to paint, as well as adjust the overall Opacity. The result is that I enhance the depth of the tree that’s in the mid-ground.
A d d i t io n a l e l e m e n t s I add more details and a pattern to the axe. Then T hen I adjust the edge line of character and foreground to accentuate the volumes and the depth within the painting. Highlighting the edges and painting reflected light also helps to bring out the volume of objects.
D e t a il ile d d e s i g n I always think that a well-thoughtout design aids the storytelling in the scene. Here I’ve indicated the interaction between the young warrior and the dragon, which enhances the feeling of movement. The figure’s fig ure’s pose is offbalance and his muscles are tensed, which shows he’s ready to strike the dragon. The direction he’s facing also adds to the sense of threat in the situation.
R e a d in g t h e s c e n e People are used to reading from left to right, top to bottom and near to far. fa r. Theref The refor ore, e, the viewe viewerr sho should uld be ab able le to see a strong, powerful anti-clockwise curve that’s produced by the twisted giant tree. This curve match matches es the mov movemen ementt of of the axe. The dragon’s facial expression is a clear indication that t hat it knows it’s about to get a lot shorter…
F i n i s h in in g u p I decide that I want to make my warrior loo warrior look k even youn younger ger,, so I adj adjust ust his face accordingly. Finally, I introduce a beam of light that picks pick s out his body, and tweak the highlights in the scene.
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F an as asy y C ard A
In Depth Create drama P otos op
USE PERS PERSP PECT ECTIVE TO TO CREATE REATE DR AMA AMA use s be ams am s of li lig ht to hel he lp portray a c athedral athe dral interi te rior or,, as she pai p ain nts a sc s c e ne from from history history – Thomas B e c ket ’s final final mome nts a
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he beauty of digital art is that there are many approaches you can take take to painting painting a scene, especially when it comes to enhancing ambience levels and creating atmosphere. The ease with which you’re re able able to to draw draw perpendicular perpendicular or parallel lines, just by holding down Shift, makes it possible to create complex perspective scenes relatively easily. This means you can concentrate on developing the feeling of the scene.
There are many many 3D 3D programs programs you you can use to create locations, but for an illustrator it’s vital to be familiar with the fundamentals of perspective. That said, painting a scene in a cathedral becomes much easier if you apply some tricks. In this workshop I’ll share some of mine. I start by studying the subject. Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, and was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. At this stage in the medieval period, the Gothic
style of architecture was commonplace throughout Europe. In 1174 1174 the cathedral was damaged damaged by fire, fire, and some parts were were replaced. For this reason I’ll be using the cathedral only as a general reference source for my environment. There are a lot of medieval medieval miniature models available that depict the murder of Thomas Becket. I like the idea of using those miniatures as references, posing Thomas in front front of of the altar as he’s he’s about about to be attacked from behind.
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GETY TYOUR RESOURCES S e e p ag ag e 1 6 now !
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L a y in in g d o w n a s m a llll s k e tc h w ith a f e w to u c h e s o f c o lo u r b e fo re s ta rt in g o n th e p a in tin g it s e l f e n a b l e s m e t o t h in in k c le a rl y a b o u t w h a t k in d o f im im a g e I w a n t toto p a in in t , w h a t k in in d o f l ig ig h t a n d c o lo u r c o m b in a tio n to u s e , an a n d h o w t o b a la la n c e th e c o m p o s itio n o f th e w h o l e s c e n e . h e n I’I ’ v e c la rif ie d th e s e p o in ts , p a in tin g th e a rt w o rk b e c o m e s m u c h f as as t e r.r.
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I sketch a couple of options. The first one focuses on the characters, their poses and their expressions – there’s just a hint of the environment. The second one opens up the scene. The characters are smaller in the composition and there’s more space to show off the cathedral space. This second approach would enable me to enhance the solemnity of the image.
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When I working working on a complex complex environment environment I usually usually create a large file and work in the central area. I choose a perspective with two vanishing points, and this means I’ll be able to show off the stained glass windows and play with the coloured light they cast. I roughly sketch my characters and architectural elements. elements.
Fantasy Card Artist
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The line art step step is is very important, important, because because it’s it’s here here that I define the characters and their poses. I try to make them as natural-looking as possible, keeping in mind the wonderful medieval miniatures references. For the background architecture I draw the Gothic features: the distinctive high columns and pointed arches that frame the stained glass windows.
T im e t o c o lo u r ! I lay down a blue colour that becomes very dark towards the top of the image. This creates the feeling that the columns continue up beyond the frame edges. Another feature of the Gothic style is the darkness from where the impressive stainedglass lighting emanates. To help the viewer take in the characters, I place a red carpet under their feet.
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I move on to painting the columns colum ns and the f loor. To To make the cathedral more realistic I add a rough texture, cracks and imperfections that give an idea of its stone nature and aged appearance. For now I just paint the characters with a dark flat colour, and then proceed with the background.
M a i n a n d r e f le l e c t e d l ig ig h t I finish the column’s highlighting blocks, which helps me to emphasise the shape. Then, on a new Color Dodge layer, I paint the windows and the light that’s cast on the floor with a desaturated light blue. This cold light is dominant in the scene : it illuminates the floor and columns, and creates a reflected ambient light that I give a war mer tone to, for contrast.
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Now that I have h ave a rough background, I work on the stained glass. I consult some reference sources and then create a new layer. I choose a Hard paint brush and draw a rectangular structure topped by a pointed arch. I divide this structure into several other rectangles and add decorations to the top part. Here is my stained glass f rame, ready for colouring.
134 Fantasy Card Artist
D e s i g n i n g s t y l i s e d f ig ig u r e s Saints and clerics were often depicted in stained glass windows. windows. With the same Hard Hard brush brush,, but but at a smaller smaller size, size, I paint a figure for every vertical sector, based on my reference. I draw the important features of saints: tunics with accentuated folds, halos, and hands posed dramatically. The stained glass window window is is now now read readyy to to be colour coloured. ed.
I n D e p th Create Create drama
C o l o u r in in g t h e g l a s s I create a new layer, place it under the stained sta ined glass frame and began to paint. I choose saturated colours because I know I’ll be blurring blurr ing them later on. At t he top of the glass I add simple splashes of colour. I don’t don’t need to pay too much attention atte ntion to those colours because they’ll be indistinct in the finished image.
A d u s t t h e O p a c i t y a n d a d d b lu lu r I do the same thing for the other stained glass windows and the light that’s cast on the floor, always paying attention to perspective lines. If the results are too bright I can soften them in one of two ways: either by darkening the window, or by playing with the Opacity Opacity and Fill option optionss in the Layers Layers palette palette.. I also also apply a Blur filter to the light on the f loor.
M e r g e c o l o u r la y e r s I merge the colour layer with the black line art and I set it to Color Dodge in the Layers palette. Everything that was black becomes transparent and everything that was colourful becomes bright, but also with a hint of the dominant picture colour. Now it’s just a case of editing, transforming, distorting and adapting the frame’s shape to my perspective lines.
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T a c le t h e m a in c h a r a c t e r Now I move on to the characters. I begin with the doomed Thomas Becket. He’s mostly in the shadow that’s cast by the column, so I paint him with desaturated and darker colours. He’s lit by the ambient light, except for t he bright beam that’s projected on to his knees from f rom one of the windows. To accentuate the brightness of the beam, I add some reflected light under Becket’s eyes, and on his nose, hands and tunic.
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I give the knight attacking Becket a simple chain-mail tunic and helmet. helm et. He’s placed in the cast shadow too, so he looks darker except for the light reflected from the floor behind him and the blade of the sword that’s in the stained stai ned glass light. This makes the knight seem more menacing.
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I give a touch of colour to the knight k night in the background and we’re almost done. I add the beams of light coming from the windows and I stress the luminosity with an additional Color Dodge layer. Finally, I paint small dabs of paint in a ver y light blue, which simulate the effect of dust hit by the light.
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Fantasy Card Artist 1 5
T A K E Y O U R D IG IT A L A R T S K IL IL L S T O T H E N E X T L E V E L A
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Learn the fundamentals of drawing
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hen you first lift an iPad Pro, a couple of things things bec ome appa rent. First, and in predictable A pple style, it’s it’s a solid-feeling device. It’s not heavy, but feels substantial substantial at three three uarters of a kilo – in a reassuring wa y, rather than cumbersome. Secondly, it’s big. A lmos t c omic ally s o. The new iPad P ro is de sig ned and ma rke te d as a viab le alte rnative to your lap top – but m ost art ists w ill ill want to p urc has e a s ta nd too.
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T h e n e w iP a d P r o h a s a l l t h e c o n n e c t iv iv itit y options and sleekness of design we’ e com e t o e xp xp e c t f rroo m A p p l e .
The arti artist st reveals whyand whyand how he uses Apple’s latest latest tablet
What dr ove your decis ion to buy an iPad Pro?
A r t isis t s a n d d e s ig ig n e r s willpro a ly wa nt to splash out on a P encil too, ut de spite the c o s t t h e P r o i s s t i llll d e c e n t v a lu lu e c o m p a r e d t o o t h e r o p t io io n s .
I ’ e l o v e d fi n g e r -p -p a i n t i n g o n t h e i P a d f r o m t h e ve ve r y fi r s t m o d e l , b u t a s I r et et u r n m o r e to to t r a d i t io io n a l a r t as well as d igital, I’ e foun d m yself c r a v i n g t h a t fe fe e l i n g o f a p e n o r p e n c i l i n m y h a n d . T h e r e ’s a d e fi n i t e d i f f e re re n c e i n m a r kk-m a k in in g b e tw tw e e n u s i n g o n e ’s ’s fi n g e r a n d u s i n g a s ty ty l u s . T h e c o m b in in a t i o n o f t h e l a r ge ge r s c r ee ee n P r o w i t h t h e prom ise of the Pencil was i r r e s i s t ib ib l e . I k n e w a f t e r w a t c h i n g t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y p r e s e n t a titi o n f o r t h e P e n c i l I ’ d b e g e t t in in g t h e p a i r .
Is there anything else you use the iPad for? I s o m e ti t i m e s p ro r o p i t u p a n d u s e it it to to d i s p l a y re re f e r e n c e n e t t o m y e a s e l w h e n I ’m ’m p a i n t i n g tr tr a d i t io io n a l l y. y. B u t I a l w a y s w o r r y I ’m ’m g o i n g t o sm sm e a r i t w i t h p a i n t . I ’ e u s e d i t a fe fe w t i m e s a t l ifif e -d -d r a w i n g c l a s s e s , w h i c h w a s f u n . A l th th o u g h I p r e fe fe r a s im im p l e s ke ke tc tc h p a d a n d p e n c i l t h e r e to to e e p l i f e si si m p l e .
What apps ar e you using with it?
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I u s e P r o c r e a t e a l m o s t e xc xc l u s i ve ve l y . T h e te te a m i s s o o b vi vi o u s l y d e d i c a t e d a n d i s r e sp sp o n s i ve ve a n d e n g a g e d w i t h t h e u s e r s , w h i c h i s a h u g e fa fa c t o r . B u t t h e a p p i t s e l f i s p e r f e c t : ro ro b u s t , e l e g a n t a n d s i m p l e . T h e y ju s t ke ke e p m a k in in g i t b e tt tt e r! r! D r o p b o x i s a l s o o n m y i P a d , w h i c h i s re r e a l ly ly u s e f u l f o r s h i f t in in g fi l e s a ro ro u n d .
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It’s t’s interes interes ting ting to note that Ap ple has kep t its its Pro o ffering ffering b ase d o n iOS. iOS. This This limits the app s avail available, but ens ures ures that the op tions tions on o ffer fee l slic slic k. This This may be co me a bless ing for use use rs, as the deve lop me nt com munity munity for iOS iOS app s m ove s rapidl rapidlyy and res po nsively. nsively. There are e xistin xistingg iOS app s that s e rve the c re ative m arke ts , fro m d igital p ainting to v ide o e d iting iting and e ve n 3D s c ulpt ing . Th e s e fe e l g re at in use , w ith the ex tra tra sc reen real es tate making making a huge differenc differenc e, Penc il or not. Pro c re ate and S ke tc hB o o k b o th run fl flawles sly and , wh en p aired aired w ith A p p le’s ke y b o ard s tan d an d P e nc il, il, fe e l like a real alternati alternative ve to a laptop . One de sign sign o ddity is is the c hargin hargingg of the Pe ncil. ncil. Although c harg harg ing o n the g o is a g o o d o p tion in the o ry, having the length o f the Pe ncil protruding protruding
fro m t he iPad ’s p o rt is ungainl ungainly and far too too eas y to s nag , ris ris king d am ag e to e ithe r or bo th dev ic es . It’s t’s a use ful op tion tion whe n s tatio nary , tho ug h. A s a first fo ray into w hat c o uld b e a new market, the the iPad Pro is pro mising mising . Existing Existing iPad users may not fee l the nee d to up grade , instead looking looking at the m ini o r Air. Air. But fo r profe s sional wanting the c reative reative ab ilities ties they ’re use d to fro m a w o rks tation o r de s kto p O S , it’s an exc iting ting de velop me nt. The key to the iPad iPad Pro’s Pro’s s ucc es s w ill be w hen deve lop ers have had had time time to exp loit iOS iOS and releas releas e new p ro tools, enab ling c reative reative s to be trul truly p ortable, wo rking rking with with too ls that are are p ow erful, erful, adaptable adaptable and p rod uctive. uctive. App le c ould ould be the p erfec t deli delivery sy stem for the the next wave of c ontent creation creation too ls.
Are t here any th ings you would particularly like to see in updates, or standout features you already love? I r e a l l y fe fe e l t h a t th th e p r o m i s e o f t h e o r i g i n a l i P a d a s a t o o l f o r a r t i st st s i s n o w b e i n g f u l l y re re a l i s e d w i t h the Pro and Pencil pairing, along w i t h t h e a m a zi zi n g jo b b e i n g d o n e b y th th e P r o c r e a te te t ea ea m . T h e s e t h r e e e l em em e n t s to to g e t h e r m a ke ke a ve ve r y w i n n i n g , e r y p o r t a b l e c o m b in in a t i o n t h a t ea ea s i l y p r o d u c e s i n d u s t r y -s -s t a n d a r d o u t p u t , a n d I ’m ’m ery pleased w ith the pu rchases!
Features 1 . - in inc h Retina display A9 x pro ce sso r Four high-fidelity speakers . 9 m m t h ic ic k Up to to 1 hou hour r battery li life fe 3 2 o r 1 G B st st o ra ra g e W i-F i stand ard ; top mode l Wi- Fi Ce llul llular ar M9 moti motion on coprocessor MP iSight iSight camera 1 p HD HD v id id e o recording 30 fps)
Rating
P a i n t i n g b y D a v e B r a s g a l l a
Daveis avei s a Stockholm-based illu il lustrato strator andde and designer, as well asa as a partner and senior designer atThe TheIIconfactory. www.pixelh www.pixelhuset.se uset.se
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Reviews
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The A ffi nity Photo interface is similar to that of Photoshop, so it’s easy to pick up.
T h isis s u b s c r ipip tio n -f - fr e e im a g e e d it ito r is b e in g h e r a ld ld e d a s a P h o to s h o p k ilille r. e fin d o u t if s u c h c la l a im im s a re re tr u e A
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A djustme nt Lay ers include Hue Sa turation, Blac k and White, Poste rize, Channe l Mixer, Expos ure, Curves, Curves, Gradient Maps and more.
1 4 0 Fantasy Card Artist
S o w h a t d o e s it h a v e to o f f e r d igig it it a l a r titis t s ? e ll , if y o u ’r’r e a M a c u s e r an an d h o to s h o p is p a rt rt o f y o u r w o r k ffll o w , th e a n s w e r m a y b e : q u ite a lo t. T h a t’s b e c a u s e A f fi fin itit y P h o to d o e s n ’t ’t u s t a p e h o to s h o p ’s in te te r fa fa c e a n d fe f e a tu t u re re s in a w a y th th a t m a k e s it e a s y t o p ic k u p a n d r u n w ith . In In m a n y w a y s , it o f fefe r s b e t te te r p e r fo fo r m a n c e . A p p l e n a m e d it it “ Ma Ma c A p p o f th e e a r” r ” in 2 0 5 . T h e m o s t s t ri rik in in g d if if fefe r e n c e A f fifin itit y h o to o f fe r s isis s p e e d . I n P h o to s h o p , y o u o fte n h av e to w a it a fe w s e c o n d s
Art tool toolss So Softw ftwar aree ARTIST ARTIS T INTERVI INTERVIEW EW You You can work work in in a range range of colour spaces, including RGB, CMYK, LAB and Greyscale.
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Affinity Photo Photo is solid enough for professional work, so I gradually gradually started started mo ving some projects there. I still need Photoshop because it’s it’s the standard. But But honestly, licence costs are are b ecom ing barely barely tolerable. tolerable. w do es A nto nto you
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I use Adobe, Affinity and and Celsys apps. Learning new too too ls and seeking new design strategies strategies help you to to stay stay ahead ahead of the the game. game. hatdo you l ke bestabou bestabou A
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Flexibility. Flexibility. No matter matter whether your project is for digital digital med ia or print, vector or pixels, you can work directly in 16-bit per channel or CMYK flawlessly, flawlessly, even e xpo rting vectors natively natively if neede d. A
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Not all of its tools are are top-notch yet. Some of them are are still still young in terms of op tions. Right now, Affinity Photo is rough and and rugged. rugged. at’ s exciti g in versi n 1.4?
Custom ramp ramp s for brush dynamics: a very sp ecific feature, but one th at’s useful for illustrators. The response of jitters available available in dynamics dyn amics is driven by a customisable curve and this helps to produce m ore usable usable and exp ressive brush strokes. Y You ou can shape yo ur brush behaviour, cut-off pressure levels, invert or linearise. A great great control over ov er pressure/dynamics sensitive devices that Photoshop doe sn’t sn’t offer yet.
It’s It’s a young young product, of course, but new features are being added all the time and, for now, updates are free for a change d setting to take effect. But using using Af fini finity ty P hoto on an iMac, iMac, ever y time time we made tweaks they appe ared instantly. In prac tice, that me ans yo u’re u’re likely to g et more “in “in the zone ” as an artist, without having your creative buzz interrupte d by s pinni pinning ng w hee ls, frozen screens and the like. W e a lso love A ffinity P hoto’s no ndestructive scaling, something absent from both Photoshop and cheaper rivals such as Pixelmator. Even if you dow nsize an imag imag e layer, Af fini finity Photo s till till stores its full res olution, olution, so you c an incre as e its size a g ain late late r if you c hang e y our mind. This is hand y, for example, when adding objects to imag es in illustrations. illustrations. There ’s also the much-vaunted million per cent zoom, which is b re at hta king to se e in pra c tice . It’s a young produc t, of course , and not quite quite as fe ature- rich rich as Photoshop
– it lacks the latter’s animation and 3D printi printing ng smart s, for instance instance . But new features are being added all the time time a nd, for for now, update update s are free . Panorama s titchin titchingg , for for exa mple, mple, was absent from the first release but has ar rived in ve rsion 1.4. A ffinity P hoto u se s its o wn file format, but you ca n also also import and export a range of file formats, such as PS D, PNG, J PG, TIFF, GIF, GIF, PDF and s o on. As s uch, it’s it’s more s ensible to think think of Affinity Affinity P hoto as a compa nion nion to Photoshop than an alternative to it. W ith a low pric e a nd no s ubs c ription, it isn’t a big f inanc inanc ial burde n, and its its spe ed and unique unique fea tures will will save yo u time a nd e ffo rt with so me t as ks . A few c lie lie nts might g et ner vou s a bo ut yo u not us ing th e indus try st and ard , but as long as you choose the right exp ort opt ions, who’s who’s to know?
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It dep ends o n yo ur working habits. If you’re doing vector ve ctor illustration, illustration, Affinity Designer Designer is the best cho ice. But the rast raster er tools in in Affinity Affinity Photo are are far mo re com plete. I’d say get both : no subscription, shared shared file format and seamless user exp erience. And Serif’s Serif’s develop ers listen to their customers.
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Fanta Fantasy sy Car Card Artist Artist 14 1
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Painting Painting is very responsive and it’s easy to use, even w hen you’re just just painting painting with your fi nger!
A d r e a m fo f o r a rt r tis t s w h o w a nt n t to c u s to m is e b r u s h e s , b u t a re th e re to o m a n y o p tio n s C
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You ca n alter the look, opac ity and sc ale of the UI so that it does n’t obscure your view w hile hile painting. painting.
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I t’t’s a t ririu m p h in u s e r in in te t e r fa fa c e d e s ig n . A n y o n e w h o ’s e v e r u s e d a n i a d w ill in in tu t u itit iv e ly k n o w w h e r e e v e r y th in g is a n d h o w to u s e it. T h e s ig n o f a g re a t m o b ile p a in tin g a p p is n o t h o w s a ti tis f y in in g it is w it h s o m e th in g fa n c y lik e th e A p p le e n c ili l w h ic ic h isis f u llll y s u p p o r te te d , a lolo n g s id e t h e i a d P r o , b y t h e w a y) y) , b u t h o w w e l l it w o r k s w ith ju ju s t y o u r fin g e r. A n d ixe lm a to r d e liv e rs w o n d e r fu fu lll l y . T h e p r e s s u r e s e n s itiv it it y is g r e a t a n d th t h e r e ’s n o n o t ic e a b l e l a g . B r u s h e s a re re g a th t h e r e d u p in to to c o lle c tio n s , e a c h o n e re p re s e n te d b y a n a c c u r a te te t h u m b n a ilil , s o d e s p ite t h e re r e b e in in g o v e r 0 0 o f th e m t o c h o o s e f r o m , it n e v e r fe e ls e x c e s s iv e . ix e l m a to to r e n a b l e s y o u toto im p o r t,t, e d it an d e x p o rt h o to s h o p file s , s o y o u c a n w o rk o n y o u r iP h o n e o r i a d a n d s w itc h b a c k to to y o u r M ac ac o r C w h e n e v e r y o u ’r’r e r e a d y . A t o n ly ly £ . 9 t h isis isi s a n a b s o l u te te b a rg r g a in in fo fo r y o u r i a d .
Art tool toolss So Softw ftwar aree Everydayexcavators provide James with inspiration as he works out how his robot robot gure should be constructed. In Fantasy In The Wild, James Gurney shows how real-world observation helps him paint fantasy images you can believe in.
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o w d o y o u f o l lo w W a t e rc o l o r I n T h e W ild a n d G o u a c h e I n T h e W ild , J a m e s G u r n e y ’s ’ s p r e vi vio u s t w o t it i t le l e s i n t h i s s e r ie ie s ? C o l o u r e d P e n c i ls ls I n T h e W i l d , p e r h a p s ? J a m e s h a s o t h e r id id e a s : w i t h F a n t a s y I n T h e W ild , h e b o t h s t a y s t r u e t o t h e s e r i e s c o n c e p t o f c r e a t in in g a r t o u t d o o r s a n d g r e a t ly l y e xp x p a n d s t h e t e r r it it o r y h e c o u l d c o v e r in in f u t u r e in in s t a l m e n t s .
J ames presents two projec projec ts in in whic h he us e s his sur round ings as both inspirati inspiration on and refe rence , adding adding fantastic elements to otherwise ordinary ordinary sc enes . A s an exe rcise, it’s a tes t of your pa inting nting s kil kills, bec ause you have to interpret the lig ht and c olours olours yo u se e a nd a pp ly the m to fo rms tha t exist only on your canvas. It’s also a g reat way to generate new ideas that yo u pro ba bly w ouldn’t hav e d ev ised otherwise. And, above all, all, J ames make s it look lik likee a lot of fun. The first proje c t s ee s J ame s a dd ing a flying flying v ehicle ehicle to a suburba n stree t.
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www.jamesgurney.com You’ll se e how J ame s’s know ledg e o f perspective enables him to make the floatin floatingg ca r look natural in the s ce ne. In the s ec ond, more expa nsive, nsive, project, project, an excavator bec omes a robotic digger. There are a few changes of tack a long t he way, and it’s it’s these chang es that are the hear t of the video. video. Imagination mixes with observed reality to send James down unexpec unexpec ted paths, and what star ted a s a s mall mallscale study bec omes an epic tableau tableau in which a giant robot inadvertently ca uses chaos in a small town. The re al wor ld has a nothe r role to play, play, too. Be ing outside g ives J ames the chance to meet people with their own areas of ex per tise tise to c ontribute, ontribute, lending ending the sc ene e xtra a uthenticity. uthenticity. Fantas y In The W ild does n’t n’t offer the dep th of tec hnica hnica l det ail that you might expec t if if you’ve you’ve se en any of J ames’s previous videos, but it’s full of both prac tical g uideli uidelines nes and c reative inspiration that could see your daily commute firing up your imagination.
ARTIST ARTI ST PR PROF OFILE ILE
A ES GURNEY James James specialises in in painting painting realistic images of sce nes that th at can’t be ph otographed otographed , from from d inosaurs to ancient civilisations. He’s also also a plein air painter and sketcher, sketch er, believing that making studies from obs ervation ervation fuels his imagination. imagination. James James taught taught himse lf to draw draw by reading reading boo ks about Norman Rockwell and Ho ward ward P yle. He received a degree degree in anthropolog y at the University Univ ersity of o f California, but cho se a career in art. art. James James has written written the instruction books Imaginative Realism and Color And Light. www.gurne www.gurneyjo yjourney urney.blo .blogspot.com ot.com
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A s y o u lel e a f t h ro r o u g h t h isis c r o w d fu n d e d h a rd b a c k , y o u ’ll d is c o v e r c o v e rs fo r b o o k s y o u ’ll w a n t to o w n , c o n c e p t a r t fo r v id e o g a m e s y o u ’ll w a n t to p l a y , a n d s k e t c h e s th a t w il l s e n d y o u r h e a d s p in n in g in m u ltip le in s p ir a titio n a l d i re re c t ioio n s .
One of many book covers that Marc worke d on – this is is 11’s The Gilded Gilded Rune, published by W izards of the Coast.
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w w w .m il a d y .f. f r I t a llll k icic k s o f f w it h s o m e t h r ilil l inin g l y p a n o ra m ic inte in te rp re ta tio n s o f G e o rg e R R M a rt r tin ’s’s S o n g o f F irir e a n d I c e . o u ’l’l l b e k n o c k e d s id e w a ys y s b y Ma M a rc rc ’s’s u n i u e ( ifif u n f in in isis h e d ) v is io n o f T h e I roro n T h ro r o n e , w h icic h t ak a k e s t h e id e a o f e p ic to a w h o le n e w le v e l, a s w e ll a s h is p a s s io n a te d e fe n c e o f w h y h e fe e ls th is to b e th e d e fin itiv e v e rs io n . T h isis s e t s t h e to n e n icic e l y fo f o r th th e r e s t o f th e 2 5 8 , l a rg r g e - fofo r m a t p a g e s , m o s t o f w h ic ic h a r e d o m in a te te d b y s in g l e , f r a m e d im a g e s , g iv in g t h e a r t fr e e r e in in to to c a p tu re o u r im a g in a tio n s . e ’r’ r e ta t a k e n o n a o u rn r n e y th t h ro ro u g h th e D is c w o rld rl d u n iv e rs e , w h e re Ma rc ’s in y o u r-fa r- fa c e illu s tra tio n s c a p tu re th e inn in n a te r id icic u l o u s n e s s o f Te Te r ry ry P r at atc h e t t ’s p o p u la r im a g inin in ingg s . Th e n it’s o n to th e h o r r o r an a n d m a d n e s s o f H P L o v e c r a ft ft , c o n v e y e d th ro u g h g rim ly e v o c a tiv e s c e n e s o f d a rk n e s s a n d d e s p e ra tio n . T h e e n s u in i n g c h a p te r s e x p l o r e , f ir s t, t, a s e r ie s o f l e g e n d a ry r y w o r l d s , th e n a c o lle c tio n o f b ra in -tin g lin g fu tu re s c a p e s . A l o n g w it h w a y , y o u ’l’l l f in d b o t h p u b lis h e d a n d u n u s e d w o rk ; c le v e r p a ro d ie s s u c h a s a n a p o c a ly p tic G o n e w ith th th e in d p o s t e r a n d a M idid d l e E a rt r th v e r s ioio n o f th e A b b e y R o a d a lblb u m a r t; t ; p l u s o c c a s ioi o n a l f o r ay ay s in i n to to o t h e r g e n re r e s s u c h a s h a rd r d s c ii- fifi a n d 2 0 t h c e n tu tu r y w a r.r. B u t g e n e r al a l l y t h isis is a b o o k o f n o b l e w a rr r r ioio r s , m a g ic ic a l c re a tu re s a n d m is ty la n d s c a p e s , al l
Marc Simonetti brings to life a motley collection of characters from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books.
e x e c u te d b rillia rill iann tly b y o n e o f th e m o s t a c c o m p l is h e d n a m e s in th th e b u s in in e s s . T h e b u lklk o f t h e b o o k isis t ak ak e n u p b y a rt r t , e a c h c h a p te r in in tr tr o d u c e d b y o n ly ly th e b rie fe s t o f p a ra g ra p h s . B u t o v e r th e fin a l 2 4 p a g e s , Ma rc s h a re s m o re o f h is v isi s io n a n d p r o c e s s , in a n o r igig in in a l a n d u n u s u a l w a y : r e p r in in ti t in g h is d is c u s s io n s w it h c l ie n t s o v e r h o w to in te te r p r e t th th e ir w o r k v isis u a llll y . T h e s e id id e a - g e n e r at a t in g b a c k -a - a n d - fofo r th th s w ith a u th th o r s S a m S y k e s , E m m a n u e l C h a s te l lili r e a n d T e r r y P r a tc tc h e t t – a c c o m p a n ieie d b y w o r k -i - in - p ro ro g r e s s s k e t c h e s – a d d a s u rp ris in g ly h o n e s t a n d fa s c in a tin g d im im e n s io n to t o a m a s te t e r fu f u l c o l l e c t ioio n . A
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ac ers of this K ickstarter p r o e c t m a y h a e e xp e c t e d ust a n ice c ollection of t h e i r f a vo vo u r i t e a r t i s t ’ s w o r k… k… b u t t h e y ’ e g o t m u c h m o r e t h a n t h a t . In I n t h i s d e l ic ic i o u s l y d e v ia ia n t o l u m e , c o n c e p t a r t i s t , i llll u s t r a t o r a n d educ ator Anthony Jones unleashes h i s “d “d e m e n t e d i s i o n s o f t h e a f t e r l if if e ” i n a s t u n n i n g s e r i e s o f m a i n ly l y m o n o c h r o m e p a i n t in in g s .
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One of the sternlooking Sisters of Halil Haliled. A nthony J ones reveals her as someone who fi nds pleas ure in the dem ise of love. love.
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Rovina Rovina Cai's Cai's 1 -page article covers how to depict a winged winged fantasy creat ure using using penc ils.
o b v io u s , b u t th th e b o o k ’s’s m a in in ly ly g e a re re d to w a rd s th e c re a tio n o f c o n c e p t/ fa n ta s y a r t – a n d th a t’s fin e b y u s ! T h e a r ti tis t s e x p l a in in h o w a n d w h e n to u s e d iffe re n t s k e tc h in g m a te ria ls , s h a re to p tip s , s h o w y o u h o w to d ra w e v e r y th in g fro fr o m h a n d s to a n a lie n s la v e , an d s e t p ra c tic a l e x e rc is e s . T h e r e a re re a lsls o m a s te t e r p r o e c t s th a t s h o w h o w it al l g e ts p u t to g e th e r – h o w to p r o g re r e s s fr f r o m e a rlrly c o n c e p t s ,
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