Here is a private commission ‘in process.’ I thought it might be interesting for some to see my current method for doing a painting like this one. Sorry in advance for the quality of the pictures… I just periodically snapped a quick pic to show progress:
The first picture shows the original sketch that I sent to the client plus the drawing transferred to the painting surface via pencil sketch.
The second shows me having basically ‘blocked in’ the environment in greys and blacks. I learned the hard way that it is much easier to paint what goes behind something first (which seems bleedingly obvious now that I know it). I also added some indications of shadows.
In the third picture, I have blocked in the ‘local color’ of things. I.e.: if the warrior’s tunic is yellow, I paint it yellow. It has a little shape from the blocking in background stage (where I added some shadow detail — which was me skipping ahead but it doesn’t really matter now)
In the fourth picture, I am adding some shadows and details. I still have a ways to go, but one can see it starting to take shape. I hope the client likes it!