Desert City Updated on Page 2
- Thread starter DMAC
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Ankh-Morpork Guard
First Post
As always, DMAC, that's awesome. Especially love the hair and the details on the clothes. 
DMAC
First Post
Thanks.
I usually do my pencil pieces by first sketching in a lighter color (in this case light brown) and then tightening up with a darker color (here a dark "tuscan red"). The first piece I posted was me scanning the light pencils into Photoshop and darkening/adjusting contrast to make them more visible. In the second, I had gone over with the darker pencil but the early stuff is still there, just barely visible.
I usually do my pencil pieces by first sketching in a lighter color (in this case light brown) and then tightening up with a darker color (here a dark "tuscan red"). The first piece I posted was me scanning the light pencils into Photoshop and darkening/adjusting contrast to make them more visible. In the second, I had gone over with the darker pencil but the early stuff is still there, just barely visible.
Knightfall
World of Kulan DM
Aristotle said:You continue to impress me with your flowing lines, expressive postures, and attention to detail. If I could afford you, I'd contract you to illustrate my entire homebrew campaign.
Ditto. (I like ml3's stuff to the same degree too.)
A couple of questions on artistic style...
I've seen a few other artists who draw faces similar in style to yours. Is there a particular influence that inspired the way you tackle the face (particularly the nose/eye region)? I know you probably developed a lot of what you do on your own, but we all have influences ... and I'd love to know the source of yours, so I can get influenced too!
Along similar lines, your outfits always have such interesting designs. They are cool because they look 'D&D appropriate' and yet neat, as opposed to the neat but not always D&D appropriate outfits characters in some published works are wearing. Do you collect images of interesting designs? Clip images from catalogs? Have reference materials for clothing from various periods? Or are you just naturally good at putting together a good outfit?
I know, I know... So many questions, but that's how we learn, right?
I've seen a few other artists who draw faces similar in style to yours. Is there a particular influence that inspired the way you tackle the face (particularly the nose/eye region)? I know you probably developed a lot of what you do on your own, but we all have influences ... and I'd love to know the source of yours, so I can get influenced too!
Along similar lines, your outfits always have such interesting designs. They are cool because they look 'D&D appropriate' and yet neat, as opposed to the neat but not always D&D appropriate outfits characters in some published works are wearing. Do you collect images of interesting designs? Clip images from catalogs? Have reference materials for clothing from various periods? Or are you just naturally good at putting together a good outfit?
I know, I know... So many questions, but that's how we learn, right?
DMAC
First Post
Bobitron: Yes, I've done published work for Fantasy Flight Games, Alderac Entertainment (AEG) and White Wolf. I just received my complimentary copy of "Gamma World: Beyond the Horizon" from WW this week which has about half a dozen pen and ink pieces by me in it, always exciting.
Aristotle: Without writing a book on the subject... I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. It's just one of those things where I was always doodling in my notebooks and on random scraps of paper. RPGs were definitely a big inspiration to draw. When my friends and I started playing Palladium's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness back in junior high, I used to illustrate our characters instead of paying attention in class. Other people getting excited about seeing their imaginations "come to life" on paper is a big part of what makes this type of thing fun for me.
I got into comics around that time too. Jim Lee was a big favorite, as was Chris Bachalo. Outside of comics, I really like Todd Lockwood, Alan Lee, and Brian Froud. All definitely have an influence on my work.
I actually took industrial design in school (Basically: designing furniture, vehicles, and other products to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional.) I find a lot of the same principles apply to designing costumes/characters though. I usually start by doodling/brainstorming elements that I think would suit the character:
This is a page from my notebook. You can see a lot of elements that made it into the final design and a few that didn't (or might make it into one of the other "evolutions" I'll be doing). I like to doodle in pen for a number of reasons: because I find it's cleaner (less smudging), it gives a better idea of what a "finished" version will look like, and it's what I got used to from goofing off in school.
Once I have something like the doodle of the character down in the lower left, I start the final illustration, lightly sketching in the figure and clothing/accessories and then, once I'm happy with how things look, I either ink or go back over with a darker pencil line.
Hope that helps.
Aristotle: Without writing a book on the subject... I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. It's just one of those things where I was always doodling in my notebooks and on random scraps of paper. RPGs were definitely a big inspiration to draw. When my friends and I started playing Palladium's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness back in junior high, I used to illustrate our characters instead of paying attention in class. Other people getting excited about seeing their imaginations "come to life" on paper is a big part of what makes this type of thing fun for me.
I got into comics around that time too. Jim Lee was a big favorite, as was Chris Bachalo. Outside of comics, I really like Todd Lockwood, Alan Lee, and Brian Froud. All definitely have an influence on my work.
I actually took industrial design in school (Basically: designing furniture, vehicles, and other products to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional.) I find a lot of the same principles apply to designing costumes/characters though. I usually start by doodling/brainstorming elements that I think would suit the character:
This is a page from my notebook. You can see a lot of elements that made it into the final design and a few that didn't (or might make it into one of the other "evolutions" I'll be doing). I like to doodle in pen for a number of reasons: because I find it's cleaner (less smudging), it gives a better idea of what a "finished" version will look like, and it's what I got used to from goofing off in school.
Once I have something like the doodle of the character down in the lower left, I start the final illustration, lightly sketching in the figure and clothing/accessories and then, once I'm happy with how things look, I either ink or go back over with a darker pencil line.
Hope that helps.
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