Dynamic Mountain

I recently had the great pleasure of particpating in the latest episode of the Ninja Mountain podcast - details of which can be found here:

http://ninjamountain.blogspot.com/

The topic we were tackling was dynamism. This is something I try to bring to my work, and I have a number of approaches through which to achieve it.

I hope you find the podcast interesting.

DMG2: Fire Giants - The Process

Initial Line Sketch


I often get asked about the commission process that leads to the creation of a new painting. Wizards of the Coast has just published a new Dungeons & Dragons gaming supplement; Dungeon Master's Guide 2, in which I was asked to create an illustration of some Fire Giants, and that gives me the perfect opportunity to do so.

I had great fun painting this piece. I always relish working on multiple figures interacting and when you combine that with the dynamism of a fight scene I am revved up. The commission email will include administrative information and reference images, but when that was stripped away I was left with something like this:

This chapter start illo shows two to four PARAGON-LEVEL ADVENTURERS fighting TWO FIRE GIANTS,
a male and a female. Lying around are the FLAMING OR SMOLDERING CORPSES of dead HELL HOUNDS
that the adventurers have already killed (exact number left to the illustrator).
The illustrator can freely choose between the adventurers described below, showing all of them or
removing ones that don’t fit into the composition.
The scene unfolds in a fantastic DUNGEON HALL OR CHAMBER of some kind. The scale and
furnishings should be sized appropriately for fire giants. Behind the giants should be A PILE OF
TREASURE SPILLING OUT OF CHESTS that the giants have stolen, as well as BARRELS, CASKS,
bundled-up TAPESTRIES, and other things plundered from merchant caravans.
The point of this illo is to show the heroes fighting their way to the treasure!
ADVENTURERS
MALE HUMAN CLERIC in CHAINMAIL with a MACE and the holy symbol of MORADIN. He has NATIVE
AMERICAN facial features, tan skin, and dark hair.
FEMALE HALF-ELF WARLOCK in LEATHER ARMOR with a ROD. She points her rod at one of the giants,
firing a beam of crackling green energy.
MALE DRAGONBORN FIGHTER in SCALE ARMOR with a SHIELD and BASTARD SWORD charges toward a
fire giant.
FEMALE RAZORCLAW SHIFTER RANGER in HIDE ARMOR with a LONGBOW, shooting arrows at the
giants.
MONSTERS
The two FIRE GIANTS are husband and wife. Like all fire giants, they are broadly built and stand 12
feet tall. They can be equipped as the illustrator sees fit, but their “stuff” should look formidable and
wrought from iron. It would be great to give them some character, as befits a pair of “boss
monsters.” Both are INJURED, but don’t look like they’re on death’s door.
If the shifter ranger is included in the composition (see above), one of the giants can be shot with
ARROWS.




Revised Line Sketch

This was a complicated brief, with lots of characters and potential. I began by exploring different story ideas and compositional approaches through quick thumbnails thrown down in my sketch book. This is a way to explore ideas rapidly and familiarise myself with the commission details. Once I have nailed my approach I then draw up a line sketch in pencil on board.

The Chapter Start runs across a page and a half with the centre of the book coming about a third of the way in from the left. I tried to create an image where elements would flow across the guttering to tie the whole together but the left and right 'panels' could also contain their own narratives. The left third has at the top the female Giant charging in to strike the Shifter Ranger and at the bottom the Cleric being struck, whilst the right has the main action of the Dragonborn leaping over the arcing fiery sword to smite the male Giant.

The line sketch is then sent for approval by the Art Director. I was asked to look again at the pillar infront of the female Giant. It was felt to be hiding too much of the action. A good point but I liked having the column there to reinforce the perspective, whilst also giving the sense of their being another space up there to add depth and reinforce the charge into the chamber. A creative solution to keep the column was to change it into a lava fall. This was a lot slimmer which let us see more, reinforced the fire motif and did the other things I wanted it to.




Value Sketch

Alongside the first line sketch I also mocked up a quick digital value study. A line sketch without values can show all the detail, but isn't always the easiest to read. A value sketch helps both the Art Director and I see better what is envisaged. It is also common to be working on several projects concurrently and pinning this down whilst it is still fresh is always useful. I may also take this sketch further and add digital colour washes to explore different colour palettes, but I usually only finalise my colour choice when I get out the acrylics at the drawing board.



Final Image

I paint in acrylics, usually working background to foreground and I often mask off the figures to allows for looser brushstrokes in the background. When scanned in I will make some digital tweaks, this is not just for colour correction, but to add some effects. In this instance the flame and magic was further saturated and some highlights strengthened.

This wasn't the first time I had the pleasure of working on Fire Giants and I will try and share them soon.

Start of the Working Day

I have just had a lovely start to the working day. When I checked my email I wasn't deluged with spam but rather rceeived a couple of great photos I'd like to share.

tpena19 very kindly sent me a picture of her holding the prize copy of the Bugman's Game. I was relieved to see that it made its way across the Atlantic to California without incident and very pleased to see that it is now in the possession of such a happy smiley person.



The second photo is from an art collector who recently purchased one of my Magic: the Gathering originals and was kind enough to send me this picture of the painting in situ, along with these words.

…the painting is GREAT! My wife and I framed it and hung it in the living room (it shares a wall and exact framing with Parallax Tide by Carl Crtichlow) I can’t thank you enough again…

Fair warms the cockles of the heart and certainly sets me up better than the usual strong cup of coffee :)

Ninja Mountain podcast

The latest episode of the Ninja Mountain podcast is online today. I manage to sneak in with a very brief comment after having been prompted by the robot (!) interviewer. To have a listen follow this link:

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain029.mp3

This also reminds me that I failed to mention the previous week's show:

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain028.mp3

Where I made a slightly greater contribution, and also had the great pleasure of chatting to Steve Belledin about his work.

Warforged Titan: Eberron Campaign Guide

The Eberron Campaign guide was recently released by Wizards of the Coast; - info here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/239647200

I had the above chapter start illustration in there, a Warforged Titan battling some adventurers. I have had the chance to work on a few of these now and I have always found them very satisfying. The large format allows you to go a bit wilder than some smaller interior illustrations might.

The one drawback is the layout restrictions. The image spread across a page and a half, which means that quite a lot of the image is sucked into the gutter about a third of the way in from the left. I try to create a composition that works as whole but also with the right two thirds and the left third standing alone.

In this instance you have the female shifter on the left. She fills that left third nicely, but also acts to draw the viewer back into the focus of the composition, which is the lightning blast and warforged adventurer.

The Winner is...

...tpena19

There were 604 peanuts in the tankard and she guessed 589 making hers the closest guess.

!CONGRATULATIONS!

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the competition. I have deliberately not posted any comments or new entries since the competition started, just to keep the entry nice and 'clean', but I have very much appreciated everyone who has come to my blog and made a comment. Thanks.

I have send a note to Tpena19 and look forward to posting the game off to her in the States.

Bugman's Peanuts Competition

Today is competition time on my blog. I am giving away a signed copy of The Bugman's Game board game, which has just been released by Games Workshop.


The Challenge:

Guess how many pieces of peanut there are in the pint-sized tankard pictured above. Please note that the salted peanuts I used come either whole, or else split in half, both have been counted as a single piece. I know, this makes it even harder.

Rules:

Enter by posting the number you think is correct as a comment to this blog entry.
Only 1 entry per person (if you enter more than once just your first post will be used).
If more than 1 person gets the correct number (or the nearest correct number) the first person to post the number will win.
Competition will finish on Saturday 1st August 2009 12:00 GMT (UK time)

The Winner:

The winner will be announced in a new blog entry. I will also notify them directly through the contact details in their profile. I will then send the game to any address you provide me with.


The Prize:

The Bugman's Game is a special promotional board game published by Games Workshop. It is only available for purchase at Bugman's Bar, which is in GW's Nottingham, UK, headquarters.



It is a light-hearted, beer & pretzels, game, whose objective is to get your Dwarf to the bar, then back again, with your food and drink. Sounds simple enough until you factor in the other Dwarfs, Trolls, Rowdy Revellers and the urgent need to get to The Bogs.




I provided all the artwork for the game; cover, board, cards and counters. It made a surprisingly refreshing change to flex my humour muscles and create some cartoon imagery - which I have always suspected I had in me.

I have included a few samples in this post.




I have had the pleasure of visiting Bugman's bar several times, and it is a fun fantasy themed bar. Adjoining it is a gaming hall which is also very well made up as a village square.

Here's a link:

http://warhammerworld.typepad.com/warhammer_world_news/bugmans-bar.html

Good luck in the competition.