Viper Probe Droid - Star Wars - Prcoess

Today I have for you the process and steps that went into a piece I first shared with you in July of 2015, the Viper Probe Droid for the Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit. This was the first Star Wars piece that I painted traditionally and will always be a favorite for mine for that fact. Before we explore the process, here is the how the finished Viper Probe Droid turned out...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

9 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original - SOLD

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Thankfully there is a ton of great reference out there for the Probe Droid so this was in many ways a still life exercise. The droid did not have to be doing anything special since it a spot illustration. I wanted to make sure it looked good and that I actually finished the painting. I got started with some thumbnails, as I always do. This was a very straightforward piece so I only provided two options. Both of these options would have been fun to do, but option "A" definitely feels more ominous since the viewer is looking up at the droid.  Here are the final thumbnails...

Viper Probe Droid - Thumbnails

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Option "A" was obviously the winner and I was cleared to move onto final drawing. To ensure that I captured all the detail I made sure to create my drawing at 100% the final resolution. This was not necessary when working digitally, but I knew that if I blew any of my drawings up for their paintings that they could loose their tightness and detail density. This has since required me to work on a larger size of paper for all of my drawings associated with my paintings. While this seems like a no brainer, it was not obvious to me when I first started my first tests at painting traditionally. All that said, here is the final drawing for the Probe Droid...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

11 x 14 - Pencil on Paper
Original - SOLD

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

The drawing was approved without notes and I was all set to begin painting. As mentioned above, this was in many ways a still life exercise. I had my reference and it was a great way to explore the materials as I relied on an object and images in front of me to guide my painting choices. This is not the norm, most of the time, no matter how robust my reference is, I have to bring a lot of painting to life using my imagination and the things I have previously observed or practiced. Here is the Probe Droid coming together in twelve easy steps...

Viper Probe Droid - Process Progression

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

After establishing a lot of the overall values and local color for this piece I worked from top to bottom. Very straight forward and at times meditative. Here is the progression of the painting in a handy dandy animated form to better show the steps and the painting taking shape...

Viper Probe Droid - Animated Process

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Here again is the final Viper Probe Droid painting as well as a scan from the book it appears in...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

9 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original - SOLD

© 2015 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

Viper Probe Droid in handy dandy book form

That's 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