Saturday, 25 December 2010

Dino Thumbs


Silvisaurus (bottom left) Allosaurus (bottom right) Female Ornithocheirus (top left) Omeisaurus (top middle) Cedarpella (top right)

Barney the Dinosaur - Carnivores left alone with children...who thought that would end well?

Fictional Dinosaur: Silexraptor ("Flint Raptor")


Beiplaosaurus

A pissed off Ankylosaurus

Human and a creeping Dilophosaurus

Human being attacked by Ornithocheirus while Compsognathus looks on

Ornithocheirus

---
Seeing as the holidays were coming up it seemed unwise to start a new project, especially as I've been roped into work overtime quite a bit. So I have just done a couple of Dinosaur related thumbnails/quick sketches in response to a MEME on DeviantArt. I must admit it was nice just to do some quick stuff and not take it too seriously. I can always expand on them some other time.

Friday, 17 December 2010

"They passed down all the roads long ago..."

" ... and the Red Bull ran close behind them and covered their footprints..."

_______________________
The Unicorn ^

"...She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless colour of sea foam, but rather the colour of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.
She did not look anything like a horned horse, as unicorns are often pictured, being smaller and cloven-hoofed, and possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in a shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery..."
~ Opening chapter of Beagle's The Last Unicorn.

I had to get this done with. So I cracked my head down. I'm not as pleased with the end result as I am with the other two previous, most probably the anatomy seems wrong. Maybe I just prefer to paint dark creatures. *shrugs*

Unicorn: Part 2 ( Research and Rendering)







After looking around for horse coats (a special thanks to Citron Vert on DeviantArt for the amazing range of breeds she has posted.) I decided to go with a Kudu-inspired pelt. I thought it looked rather elegant and regal while not being overbearing. I haven't got round to placing the actual patterns yet, wanting to get the rendering complete first.
While rendering I have come to realise how anatomically incorrect the Unicorn is. I must admit I didn't take time to consider anatomy when I came to sketch it, which I am now regretting. I'll just have to remember to be more careful next time. The thick fur was done with the Pencil tool, which I find works well when drawing quick strands of hair.
Oh, and the site's palette has changed for a warm red colour. Nice contrast to the winter cold. About time I updated the banner aswell.

Monday, 13 December 2010

Unicorn: Part 1 (Background )


The first background was scrapped because it was too chaotic. The Second was better suiting the calmness of a Unicorn. That grass will be worked on more, its just there as a base to work upon later.
At the moment I'm looking at horse coat patterns for inspiration on the Unicorn's pelt. I don't want it to be a solid white, but with a mix of silver and grey markings too. I suppose I shouldn't just look at horses and try antelopes and deer as well, as the character is described more antelope-like than horse.

Saturday, 11 December 2010

"He was the Colour of Blood..."


__________________

The Red Bull ^

"He was the colour of blood, not the springing blood of the heart but the blood that stirs under an old wound that never really healed. A terrible light poured from him like sweat, and his roar started landslides flowing into one another. His horns were as pale as scars..." ~ Chapter 8 of Beagle's The Last Unicorn

So, here he is, finished. I couldn't really be driven enough to do a process like previous, I just wanted to crack on regardless.
I must admit I'm not looking forward to doing the unicorn. Don't know why that is. Perhaps it's just my dark heart :D

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Haggard and Lir (Colour)


Just a quick colour overlay from the previous sketches.
... Lir looks like David Tennant's Doctor Who! AAA! lol. Perhaps it would be better if he had blond hair like in the movie.

Sunday, 5 December 2010

Lir

Felt the mood to do more sketching rather than working on painting the Red Bull. Tut' Tut'.
Well, here is Prince Lir, foster-son of King Haggard (see previous post). I've tried to make him the opposite of Haggard, with a bit more bulk and a kinder features. It was hard at first to decide on how to make him attractive... in the end I just had to look at men I find attractive, like Josh Holloway and Philip Glenister, for inspiration... a good excuse as any to google search them *goofy smile*

Friday, 3 December 2010

Haggard

I do plan to do a quick colour version of this sketch in Photoshop... just don't know when.
Someone responding to my Harpy Celaeno said they would be interesting to see a King Haggard and Prince Lir character design (both from the same book, The Last Unicorn). I was happy to comply and slightly curious myself on designing these two, for I don't usually draw humans never mind trying to make a unique interesting character. Anyway, this is my take on the main villain, King Haggard. I applied the same principles onto him as I did to Erik in my Phantom of the Opera piece, they both being described as skeletal. Haggard is a sharp cruel character so a lot of sharp angles seemed to fit. Also he is described as coming from a foreign land (I think... I'll check some when) so it gave room to play around with his features (who's to say that all the humanoids from Haggard's birthplace don't look like this?). Some tattoos also seemed to fit so I dunked some on.
Hmmm, is his head too big?
Must remember Lir must pretty much be his foster-father's opposite in character and appearance.