Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Seer


 I've been wanting to update my portfolio website with new character art that reflects my current skills (most of the stuff I have right now a couple of years old). My goal is to challenge myself with each new character; I would really like to make sure that I attempt to paint something that I've either struggled with in the past, or have never attempted at all. I also want to try and do something inventive with each one. I have a lot of strange and bizarre dreams, but I often don't incorporate them into my paintings. I think if there was at least 1 unique thing about a character design, it would help pull them out of general stereotypes or designs that have been overdone. 

With this Seer, I wanted to take an angelic-being concept that I have done in the past and create another ranking. The first one I did a few years ago was in a painting called "Summoning Dusk", where the Seer is basically on field duty and transforming day into night. The second concepts I created were of a higher ranking - Seraphs. Instead of 1 pair of wings, they had 6, and wore decorative head pieces that covered their eyes so that they may focus their mental abilities to predict & change time and fate. 

This current Seer is a leader. I knew I didn't want her to have wings because she is meant to stay stationed and Sees through 3 faces (the 3rd isn't depicted in the image). She has the ability to conjure planets and galaxies to determine the fate of all through time and space. 

You can see the 3 versions in this image:


1 ) For the creation of the Seer, I started with some pretty rough thumbnail sketches. I tried several poses (which I didn't save), but settled on this one because there was something I liked about the pose and the flow of her dress.


2 ) I chose the dress design that I thought fit best. I really grew attached to the three cloth pieces covering her chest; I thought it reflected the 3 faces that she has (although I am now wishing I had painted a third). 

3 ) I began rendering out the sketch in black & white, making sure I had a good idea of my value's before pursuing color.

4 ) The finished version. There was some steps in between that I saved which I may post later. I tend to feel exhausted after finishing any painting, and digging through steps to put them altogether often comes at a later time. :)