Gallery of Shadows and Reflections

Hello, friends!  

So, I know it's been awhile since I've posted artwork here, so I thought I'd post a few of the character portraits I've completed.

I have two left, but here are the four I've completed so far. You guys know the drill in how to enlarge. :)

timelord1's Maeve Kennock, dulcinbradbury's Aileann, just_the_ash's Moraiwe and Angamarth (a special order), and timelord1's Roghrid.




I also started a new painting to try to coax my muse out of hiding. Well, it's sort of a new painting-- this is actually a redo of an older piece that I never finished.  I call it Masquerade.  I'm using more of a color-sculpting technique for this one, rather than using a tight line drawing and building on that.  Keep in mind that this is VERY rough still, just blocking in basic colors and shapes.  This painting has now gone through three re-works.  It started off similar to this, with her standing in a maze of arches, in the water.  I then moved her into open ocean, with the ruins of an arch in the background.  But I think I like the more claustrophobic feel of having her standing within the architecture.  I also changed the color scheme a little-- she was wearing a purple gown before, but it blended too much into the indigo/violet shades of the background.  And I changed her pose.  She will still be standing in seawater, and the mask will be weeping.  No clue how long this one will take me, as other projects will take priority, but it'll make a good warmup piece to work on at the beginning of art-days.

Have an original role playing character, or an original fiction character that you would like to see realized in a drawing?  

I am once again open for character portrait commissions!  These will be head-and-shoulders portraits.  Black and white portraits are only $5!  

Color options are also available during Portrait Days at heavy discount-- see below cut for more information.


( Click to read more info; please read it all before putting in your request! )


Some examples from previous Character Portrait Days--click to enlarge

Discounted Character Portraits-- click dropdown menu to select

B/W Character Portrait $5.00 USD B/W 1 Character Half Body Portrait $8.00 USD B/W 2 Character Half Portrait $10.00 USD B/W 1 Character Full Portrait $10.00 USD B/W 2 Character Full Portrait $15.00 USD B/W 1 Character Head and Shoulders + Full Animal $10.00 USD Ink/Color Head and Shoulders 1 Character Portrait $20.00 USD Digital Paint Head and Shoulders 1 Character Portrait $50.00 USD

So, I thought I would put together a little tutorial on how I create the character portraits for my weekly Discounted Character Portrait Days. I create these images in Gimp using a Wacom tablet; this tutorial will focus more on technique and less on the technical aspects of the program and tablet.

This is a portrait of timelord1's character Jaerus. She gave me a detailed description and a picture reference for his armor, which can be found here under the first character description. She also specified that she pictures Jonathon Rhys-Meyers in the role, so that gave me an idea of what the character will look like.

Click image for full size.



The very first thing I do is scour the web for references. As she has given an actor as a reference, I look for images of him. In other character portraits, I try to think of appropriate actors/actresses and use them as references. I don't always aim for a strict likeness; sometimes the reference is used very loosely just to give a *feel* of the character. But in this instance, I'm trying to give more of an impression that the characterresembles the actor, without really going for a tight likeness.

( There are a LOT of images under cut. )

Had two commissions from this week's Discounted Character Portrait Days.  (The sale is going for the rest of the day, so feel free to put in your requests!  Prices are $5 for black and white portraits, $20 for digitally inked and colorized, and $50 for digital paintings.)

Click the thumbnails to enlarge.  Both of these are requests from timelord1 for her ethian_wanderer project.  The first is "Lavinnia" and the second, "Lily MacTalla."

   

Also, timelord1 was the winner of last month's Free Sketch Day Prize Drawing.  She had asked for "TARDIS" as her prompt, and so:

Hey, all!  Just dropping by quickly to say I'm going to leave my "$5 Character Portrait Days" open one more day this week.  So if you have an original character that you use for role playing or fiction writing that you'd like to see drawn in a head-and-shoulders grayscale portrait, go here to put in your order!  I'm being a bit slow right now due to some time-consuming family issues, but I promise to get to every portrait that is asked for.