Ward - Hero - Name TBD

[AbdultheNewt]

"Hero" and "Painting" brought Conan and Frazetta to mind, so I'm thinking of tackling something in that vein (not that I'm kidding myself or anyone else that I could paint like Frazetta, but it gave me a jumping off point).

I did a few sketches to get myself rolling, although I'm not sure if any of these are "it." Might be a little too tired and cliche, but as I'm new to the whole digital painting thing, I take some comfort in the notion of familiar territory.

[LXD]

I'm liking the look of the third one. You might try a more radical angle of view more from the top of the monsters head down possibly. I like the idea of seeing the caves or hallways going back into the distance also. And maybe go with the open face look so we can see the fear and/or determination on the hero facing the monster.

[Brazucka]

The second one has the best composition,
in my opinion, and a profound content too.

The third one is great also, but more for a
romantic moment, I guess. The 1st looks
like a pirate.


I´ll be anxious to see wich you´ll choose.

[AbdultheNewt]

Brazucka and LXD, I had to laugh - one of you likes #3, the other #2, and I was kind of partial to #1. This just goes to show that when it comes to taste, you can show 3 images to 3 people and get 3 different choices...

I'll dabble some more today and see if one of them moves to the forefront.

[Brazucka]

Hahahahahahaha...

You´re totally right.

[M_Cederstrom]

Nice sence, the third is my fav...

[AbdultheNewt]

Still haven't decided, but I did some color sketches to see what they might look like. I think i'll go without a helmet on #3 if I go further with that one.

[LXD]

Now I'm liking the third one even more, guess I'm just in the mood for moody lighting

[AbdultheNewt]

Alright, I haven't abandoned the others, but I did move this one along a bit...

[hulahuga]

the first one is cool, but I think the whirling winds in the dragon fight might be a killer!

[AbdultheNewt]

I still have hopes of finishing more than one of these. Tonight, some detail work on the first one...

[LXD]

It's coming along but you might consider pushing the top of the shoulder piece up so that it's behind the face a little. It will help bring the face forward a bit.

[AbdultheNewt]

hulahuga, I'm still hoping to tackle one, if not both, of the other concepts. This one just seemed like the easiest and I'm still new to doing digital paintings. Most of what I've done over the past 10 years or so has been cartooning. I bit off on this challenge to see what I could do and hopefully grow as an artist. So, if all goes well, I'll get to the dragons, too.

LXD, good call on the shoulder pad/chin area - here's an update along with a little more detail.

[LXD]

I really like the detail on the outfit you can really get a sense of the leather vs. the steel in the ax vs. the bronze in the shin guards.

Comparing this version with your original thumbnail, in the thumbnail the warrior doesn't have a light so the light behind the monster works. I think if you're going to have a bright light in front then maybe try no back light at all so that only the front of the monster is defined by the lantern?

[AbdultheNewt]

That's a good point on the backlight. I'll certainly take it down quite a bit, but maybe I'll give it a try with only some rimlighting on the demon wizard and very little (if any) backlight. The whole thing was feeling a bit too well lit - especially if the hero is supposed to be surprised.

Thanks for the comments.