Trandoshan Rival Explorer - Beyond the Rim Process

Today on the blog I have for you the process that went into the making of (in my opinion) the best space lizards, a Trandoshan, for the Star Wars RPG book, Beyond the Rim. I shared this with you originally in September... how time flies. To get us back up to speed, here is how the final Trandoshan Rival Explorer turned out...

Rival Explorer

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

This is not my first nor will it be my last Trandoshan piece. I think there is a standing order still over at Fantasy Flight Games to give them to me if at all possible. They are one of my two favorite aliens from Star Wars... the other being the Mon Calamari, but I have mentioned this many times. I have lots of reference and years of familiarity with these guys so it is always fun to work on them. I got started with some thumbnails as always...

Rival Explorer - Thumbnails

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Nope, totally not standing in the yard dressed in what I imagined a Trandoshan explorer would where... nope, TOTALLY not happening. At the time I think I was leaning more toward option 'B' after being really excited about option 'A'... but it didn't matter, option 'A' was the winner with the client. With a selected thumbnail in hand it was time to get started on the drawing...

Rival Explorer -Drawing

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

After all the right and perfect marks are made on the paper (HAHA!) I had myself a drawing of a Trandoshan... or should I say, another drawing of a Trandoshan. As I type this I keep looking back at option 'B' of the thumbnails and wonder, "What could have been". Oh well... moving on, no time to second guess the art directors.

With the final drawing approved it is now time to get started on some paint work! In just eight easy steps you too can have your very ownTrandoshan ! Or not...

Rival Explorer - Process steps

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Another straight forward piece to paint. I think the only note on this piece was at the end I needed to shorten the height of his face between the lib and nose. I just had to shift his face down and it was a quick fix. Not that understood why this was an issue, but it is not my job to question, just to make sure the client is happy with the final product. RAWR!

Again, have you ever wondered what one of my paintings looked like at 100% at its original size? Well, here you go! The original is 9x11 and is 300 dpi. Here is a crop of the face / shoulder area, at 72 dpi this section now measures over 14x14. You can compare this close up to the close up I recently posted on the Nexu, which was from this same project. Hurm... I feel like I could have put another layer of time and work on this piece... oh well, too late now!

Rival Explorer -Painting at 100%

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

While not printed nearly as large on the page as the Nexu, this Trandoshan ended up much larger on the page then expected. Good thing I paint big! Remember, you can never make the painting too big, but a painting can definitely be too small... and then there is a problem not easily fixed. YES, you can loose information in a big painting... but that is no where as bad a providing a image to the client that is too small to use or looks horrible when they up-res it.

Rival Explorer hanging out with some text...

Again, here is the final Trandoshan Rival Explorer for your viewing pleasure... RAWR!

Rival Explorer (this continues to totally not be me standing in the yard dressed this way)

© 2013 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, 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