I first want to say that what I am sharing with you is a process that I have come to after about 6 years of trial and error. This is by no means a perfect method. Every artist has their own methods and process. Just because you follow the path of the process it does not mean you will end up at the same destination. I am not trying to scare anyone off, there is just no one perfect method to making art. This works for me, I hope it can show you some new paths you might want to try that will take you to new places in your own work.A lot of the questions I have received have been about what is happening from layer to layer in my painting. I heard from more then one person that they could not see what was different in the fixing stage progression. To help better illustrate what is happening I have broken down the layers of my painting into separate elements...
Layer breakdown© 2010 Wizards of the Coast
Each layer was a separate step in the process. The first 3 and the last 2 can be found in all my current paintings. The number of 'correction' layers varies from painting to painting. This should better illustrate some of what I was talking about in the last post. Please note that the Overlay layer is shown inverted and as a normal layer.
Now that I have shown you all the pieces here is a complete progression side by side from drawing to final layer...
Layer Prgression© 2010 Wizards of the Coast
The majority of heavy lifting in all my paintings is in the first three layers. The under painting is key to set the mood, color palette, and over all lighting of the piece and the main painting layer pulls it all together. I try to work on the piece at 50% - 66.7% for as long as possible to ensure that I work the entire image before going crazy on the details. For far too long getting caught up on the details too early has really hindered my paintings. I love the detail work and try to use that as icing on the cake after I have done all the hard work. Here is a view of the painting at 100% to show how much detail is in the piece...
Sea Demon's Shire at 100%© 2010 Wizards of the Coast
I continue to welcome any questions you have regarding my process and methods. I hope this additional post helps explain a little better what is going on in my paintings layer to layer.
That is all for another week! I will be back on Monday with a new drawing and hopefully a surprise or two if I can pull them off. Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
Thanks for sharing your process. I love seeing how other artists work, and I'm still trying to refine and speed up my own. I completely relate to getting caught up in the details too early. That's a 'sin' of mine as well. :D
ReplyDeleteKaryn
http://karynlewis.com
This was really interesting and insightful. I might try a thing or two. Thanks for sharing this :D
ReplyDeleteYou are both very welcome! Glad to hear that it has been useful and enjoyed. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, very helpful! Feel free to go nuts with process posts ^_^
ReplyDeleteWonderful and insightful, thank you!
ReplyDelete@Chris: I will do my best when the opportunity arises... which might happen again as soon as next month. Cross those fingers!
ReplyDelete@Jennifer: You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow. Thanks for expanding on your tutorial from last post. Seeing the individual layers really helps me as a fellow digital artist to see your process. Eye opening. Since your last post I started a new illustration and tried treating my initial drawing in a similar fashion to the way you described and it's really helping me to merge the drawing into the painting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteNo Problem. Glad they have been so helpful!
ReplyDeleteWonderful work, really interesting and informative watching your progress and layering styles. Ta for posting Chris.
ReplyDelete