Quick post! Just messing around a bit tonight. Thought I’d finish up the little creature portrait I painted up in gouache a few days ago…
I made a little process gif so you can see where he started. He was sketched in gouache and finished in Photoshop.
I’ve got a big project I’m ramping up for and one I’m finishing up! Very excited to share what I’ve been up to in the coming months. :)
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TweetI tend to get a lot of questions about general creature design while I Livestream or via email so I thought I’d try to post every now and again to help answer some questions. I will start with a quick post about color. I’ve talked about coloration before in regards to creature design but I think I will touch more on reference and how it can aid in color ideas.
Sometimes I like to take my color reference literally. Nature provides millions of creative and beautiful color variations, why mess with a good thing? A lot of times the coloration and patterning you pull from your reference can look completely alien when applied to a fictional creature. The fellow above was sketched not only with color in mind, but also the animal itself. I had stumbled across a photo of a king eider and I was amazed by the shape of the bird’s head and the colors displayed! This bird is gorgeous.
You can definitely see the connection between the king eider’s coloration and the beastie I sketched out. While not it’s not a completely literal translation, the color and markings are almost exact to the photo I found.
Here’s another example of literal color reference between this carnivorous creature and the bongo antelope:
Other times I find that taking queues from nature helps in creature colors. For example, I might not take color / marking reference so literally and create a pattern that is more “inspired” by an animal’s coloration.
The creature above has a unique coloration similar to that of the cassowary. It’s not as literal as before but you can see where the idea came from. The idea of a colorful face isn’t exclusive to birds either. Mandrills are known for their brightly colored faces. The knowledge of these two animals makes it possible for me to make the jump from bird to mammal-like in regards to coloration.
Why is color / pattern important in creature design? It helps ground the creature in a reality. Color and pattern hint at an evolution and history that is related to the creature’s environment and it’s own behavior / survival. Animals here on earth use their whole body to survive. Color and pattern play an extremely important role in the animal’s daily life. Color and pattern may be used for mating displays, communication, camouflage or as a result of isolation/breeding. It may seem obvious but there are always hundreds of solutions in regards to color and pattern in creature design. Lots of little choices that can make differences in believability for your work. Note the small discolorations along the lips of the creature I sketched above. This might resemble those of a chimp. Coloration in animals in never perfect. Just like freckles, birth-marks and blemishes in humans, animals have these small imperfections that distinguish them as individuals of a species. Picking up on these clues in nature will help make your creatures seem grounded and more believable as living beings.
When thinking of color for your critters, remember this:
This is a brief post but I hope this is helpful on some level. I do plan to touch more on the subject of color and pattern again. As I always say, studying and practicing is how you get better with creature design and your work. If you have any questions or anything to add, feel free to do so in the comments below or shoot me an email at contact@brynnart.com! :)
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TweetMore Paizo work! This time from The Frozen Stars Pathfinder Adventure Campaign. I’m really enjoying this campaign series quite a bit, the interiors are quite lovely. I thought I’d post my sketches along with the finals here. I get asked quite a bit about the sketches I send to clients and what they look like.
The Lantor is very much like the original sketch, you can see below. It was a small edit but the right fore-arm does look much better raised in the final image.
The Frostbird or “Ice Runner” was changed more so from the original sketch. In this case, I actually like the sketch a lot more than the final. The position of the head and amount of feathers on the legs seems more naturalistic to me. In any case, there are always compromises in working with clients. The goal is to try and make the edits work for both parties involved. While I’m drawn more to the sketch, I am still happy with how the final turned out. Special thanks to Andrew Vallas, my AD for the project. It’s always a pleasure!
Fun Fact: The Frostbird was also my first painting in Photoshop CS 6! :)
More updates and new work on the way! I’m very excited about the projects I’ve been working on lately.
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Photo by Kendall Slaughter.
This last weekend was incredible. Spectrum Art Live is a really special convention. It has a unique energy and the folks that exhibit and attend make it an extraordinary event. It feels like home and these last two times I have gone, I come back energized and ready to get back to work. I could write pages about it all but I don’t think I could do it justice. I just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone involved with putting on this amazing show. To the Fenners, the SFAL staff and volunteers, the panelists and special guests, the convention staff, the patrons and of course the exhibitors and attendees, Kansas City – thank you. Thank you all so very much for making this show a place to look forward to all year long. This convention has pushed me in so many ways and I leave every year with new goals, new friends and new inspiration for doing what I love.
Special thanks to:
-My booth-mate, Michael Manomivibul! You’re extraordinary and exhibiting with you these past two years has taught me so much. Thank you for everything buddy.
-John Mathis, thank you so much for all of your love and support throughout the con. Thank you for staying positive for all of us. You’re incredible. (Thank you for all of the food and water runs!)
- Tiffany Turrill, thank you so much for coming along with us on this adventure. You kept our group upbeat and laughing. You’re exceptional and I can’t wait to do this with you again next year! GURL.
The three of you showed me endless support through this weekend and I couldn’t have done any of it without you.
Looking forward to next year!! :)
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A quick post about some new work, my cover for LORE has been released. The folks at LORE contacted me earlier this year about painting a wraparound cover for their newest annual of short sic-fi and horror stories. As an added bonus, the publication is located in my hometown of Lancaster, California. Special thanks to Rod Heather and Sean O’Leary for the project!
Here’s the full cover:
“Sentinel”
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