Undead Revisited: marks on paper

Earlier this month I shared with you the work I contributed to the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Undead Revisited gaming supplement. I mentioned I would be sharing some of the work that went into the assignment and that is what I have for you today. Since the main focus of the assignment was the opening illustration, I will be just talking about that one piece.

It always begins with a thumbnail or thumbnails. For this piece is was a matter of making sure I got all the required elements together into on cohesive image. I needed the alley, the dropped torch, the dead alchemist and the horrific shadow on the wall. Though the thumbnail is really rough it gives me a starting point and a way to show the kind of reference I will require.

It may be rough, but it am a necessary step of the process... and I usually do not make a habit of showing them to people.

Did somebody say reference? Get that camera out, we have reference to shoot! Lighting and angle was key to this piece and there is only one way to nail it and that is to set it up and make sure I can see how really looks. Take more photos then you need and don't be afraid to try different things, happy accidents are awesome and allow you to discover things you would have never imagined.

Another roll I was born to portray... a dead elf.

Now to work out all the elements and compose the scene. Still working digital I can move elements around and quickly add, delete and change everything till I have a finalized draft. Some things are still really loose and other are much tighter but all the key information is there so that I can move forward on a final drawing.

It is all coming together.

Looking at the reference and using my draft to work off of I create the final drawing. I am adding detail and addressing areas that my not have been correctly resolved in the draft. This is the most fun part of the whole process for me and I really can loos myself in the drawing.

Shadow Opener Drawing
© 2011 Paizo Publishing, LLC

There was one note to make the shadow monster more horrific and twisted as I moved from the drawing to the final painting, but that is easy to address. The rest is time and hard work in photoshop and on the other end of several days is the final painting. And if you look closely, you should still see my drawing peaking through in places... which I kind of really like!

Shadow Opener
© 2011 Paizo Publishing, LLC

That is all for another exciting day on the blog, I will see you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com