How I work
The initial idea of the client was for her to ride a big pudel dog into battle.
After a few sketches back and forth, we deciede not to go down that alley. Instead the focus was to be centered around the girl and the dog would play a smaller role in the composition.
Oil paint on paper, 30x40cm.
Step 1: Sketching
I always start with sketches. Small doodles where the theme or subject is explored in loose uncommited drawings. That way it is easier to try out different compositions and ideas. Together with the cilent we pick the final one. Different color compotions are tried out as well. I always try to get a clear silhuet, and direct the eye towards the star of the painting. I usually do the color composition digital.
Step 2: line drawing
At this stage I redraw the image with a clean line on paper. I then smear graphite on the back and with a ball pen I then redraw on top of the pencil line and transfer the image on to a prepared canvas or paper. The line is then redrawn again with acrylic or indian ink. When finished I cover the main character with airbrush plastic film which I cut out with a knife. That way I will be able to paint the background more loosely with out covering up the figure.
Step 3: background
When blocking in the background I try to stay as close as possible to the inital color sketch done eariler. As you can see the first layer of paint i very crude, but little by little I add more details. In this case I hada bunch of foto reference for the plants.
Step 4: main character
When the background is ready I remove the plastic film, and the main charcter stands out nice and clean, ready to be painted. As you can see I like to block out areas of paint before I dive into to many details.
Step 5: Finishing up
From here on it is a matter of keep going adding details, always refering back to the original sketch and color composition. In this case the client ordered the original painting, but if it was to be delivered digital I would probably add a few touch ups in photoshop.
