Today I have for you an overdue post about the process and steps that went into a Magic the Gathering piece of mine that I first shared with you way back in September of 2016, the
Fretwork Colony. This was a challenging one and took a bit of work to figure out and make work in the end. To start things off, here is how the final art for Fretwork Colony out...
Fretwork Colony
Magic the Gathering - Kaladesh
14 x 10.2- Digital
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
Thumbnails of course start things off. This piece needed to show two very different things. One being a swarm of very small insect monsters that I got to design and the second being their effect on very large structures like buildings. For
some this might be second nature, but for me, it takes some time and thought on how best to construct a scene that is both large and small. Much like when a
monster is actually made up of lots of smaller elements to make a greater whole, I need to put my thinking cap on and plan it all out well ahead of time. Thankfully, the more you do the easier it gets. Funny how that is. After weighing my options I decided to go in the direction of having
two element, a foreground closeup
an a background effect, composition rather than trying to show all of the action on one continuous plane. Here are how the thumbnails turned out...
Fretwork Colony - Thumbnails
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
Option "D" was the winner this time around and looking back at them now it seems to have the best balance of elements, some nice
overlap, and reads the best left to right. Sometimes looking back at these thumbnails I am curious about what could have been with other options, but this time I think it was best that "D" was the winner. Now that I had an approved thumbnail it was time to get the finalized drawing worked up. Here is how the final drawing turned out...
Fretwork Colony - Drawing
Kaladesh
17 x 14 - Pencil on paper
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
There is sometimes a weird limbo I find myself in when it comes to working on the drawing and thinking ahead to the painting. How much detail should I put in? What is too much? What is a waste of time and will be lost to the painting process? Do I REALLY need to draw every single little bug
monsters or will it all come together when I am painting? In the
end I draw it all and hope for the best. I want to have a nice drawing at the end of things and over the years I have learned that the drawing is as important to the painting as everything else, if not more. Also, here is the tonal study for this piece...
Fretwork Colony - Toned drawing
Kaladesh
14 x 11 - Pencil on paper
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
The drawing was approved without comment and it was time to get started on the painting. Layer separation and easy readability
was very important on this one and there was a lot of adjusting and futzing that went on while I worked on this one. In just 18 easy steps, you too can have a digital painting... or not...
Fretwork Colony - Process progression
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
While the step by step might now show it, there was a lot of adjusting that went on during the creation of this piece. Making sure the background felt like it was in the distance AND still readable was very important. The viewer needed to see the bugs destroying the building, but it also
need to be back other there and not pulling too much from the foreground and the details. I also needed to make sure the insects in the foreground were clear, interesting, and read well. You can see how their chroma and details changed as I worked on this piece. Making sure they popped off the metal roof they are on was important. Here is an animated progression of this piece coming together so that you can better see each step layering to create the final painting...
Fretwork Colony - Animated process progression
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
Of the three pieces that I did for
Kaladesh this was my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against this piece and I think it was successful. I prefer the other two pieces more when it comes down to it. The other two are more in my wheelhouse regarding
subject matter and
over all feel. This one challenged me, which is a good thing, and so the process was a little more involved and so skews my view of the piece. They all can't be your favorites and that does not make them bad or that there is anything wrong with them.
Again, here is the finished Fretwork Colony painting and the final production card...
Fretwork Colony
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
Fretwork Colony in handy dandy card form.
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...
