2 hours ago
Back again after a long break.
Life got busy, and posting here slipped away from me for a while, but I’ve really missed being part of an arts community, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and not be as shut off as I have been.
No huge updates — I’ve just been quietly practicing, making new pieces, and trying to keep improving bit by bit.
Right now I’m working on putting together a new, more fantasy‑focused portfolio, which admittedly is taking alot longer than I had thought as the only chance I get is after work and evenings.
Here are a few things since I last updated, I'll try and keep it brief.
Art Competitons
Pushed myelf to enter more competitions over the last year, mainly to try and get more exposure. Unfortunately it didnt lead to anything but it is what it is.
This was for a portrait/figure painting competition.
This was just a general art competition which didnt have any set rules in terms of theme etc. I took inspiration from Alphonse Mucha's "Seasons" paintings and reinterpreting it, this one being based on Summer.
Arts Club
I was asked by a local arts club back in the summer to paint a portrait for an exhibition they wanted to put on for members, with the theme being a narrative portrait, i.e. showing the stages of a portrait painting from start to finish.
I wont bore you with each step so I'll just post the final image.
Had a lot of fun doing the work for them, was abit nerve wracking as I had to get up and give a 10 min talk to a room full of people but they all seemed to enjoy it.
Character Design
Bought a few classes from swatches academy as I wanted to work on my digital skills and to get an insight into how people tackle fantasy as it's something I dont have lots of experience with myself.
These where my rough designs
Selected my favourite 2 designs from the above, cleaned them up and experimented with colours.
This is where I'm currently at with it. I was working on it during the summer just before the arts club contacted me so I had to put it on the back burner.
Man Horse
As I mentioned I've been trying to create more fantasy illustrations for a portfolio, I was spending some time reading some fantasy short stories as I thought they could be useful for briefs. This was based on a short story by an Irish author.
.jpg "Filename: Man Horse (Attempt 1).jpg
Size: 1.19 MBToday, 08:19 PM")
The latest peice I've been working on is based on one of the briefs from swatches academy, specifically a mtg inspired brief depicting a corrupted knight midcharge at the viewer, with his left arm being covered in black tendrils inspired by innistrad.
This was my rough comp along with a quick value comp.
This is where I'm currently at with the drawing. Spent alot longer on reference stage for this one since drawing armour is not my strong suit. Ended up creating a mock up in blender for the background and to help with lighting.
Taking abit of a break from it atm and just planning out the next few illustrations I want to create for a portfolio, all being based on briefs from swatches academy, just torn on whether to try and paint them digitally or stick with oil painting.
Life got busy, and posting here slipped away from me for a while, but I’ve really missed being part of an arts community, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things and not be as shut off as I have been.
No huge updates — I’ve just been quietly practicing, making new pieces, and trying to keep improving bit by bit.
Right now I’m working on putting together a new, more fantasy‑focused portfolio, which admittedly is taking alot longer than I had thought as the only chance I get is after work and evenings.
Here are a few things since I last updated, I'll try and keep it brief.
Art Competitons
Pushed myelf to enter more competitions over the last year, mainly to try and get more exposure. Unfortunately it didnt lead to anything but it is what it is.
This was for a portrait/figure painting competition.
This was just a general art competition which didnt have any set rules in terms of theme etc. I took inspiration from Alphonse Mucha's "Seasons" paintings and reinterpreting it, this one being based on Summer.
Arts Club
I was asked by a local arts club back in the summer to paint a portrait for an exhibition they wanted to put on for members, with the theme being a narrative portrait, i.e. showing the stages of a portrait painting from start to finish.
I wont bore you with each step so I'll just post the final image.
Had a lot of fun doing the work for them, was abit nerve wracking as I had to get up and give a 10 min talk to a room full of people but they all seemed to enjoy it.
Character Design
Bought a few classes from swatches academy as I wanted to work on my digital skills and to get an insight into how people tackle fantasy as it's something I dont have lots of experience with myself.
These where my rough designs
Selected my favourite 2 designs from the above, cleaned them up and experimented with colours.
This is where I'm currently at with it. I was working on it during the summer just before the arts club contacted me so I had to put it on the back burner.
Man Horse
As I mentioned I've been trying to create more fantasy illustrations for a portfolio, I was spending some time reading some fantasy short stories as I thought they could be useful for briefs. This was based on a short story by an Irish author.
The latest peice I've been working on is based on one of the briefs from swatches academy, specifically a mtg inspired brief depicting a corrupted knight midcharge at the viewer, with his left arm being covered in black tendrils inspired by innistrad.
This was my rough comp along with a quick value comp.
This is where I'm currently at with the drawing. Spent alot longer on reference stage for this one since drawing armour is not my strong suit. Ended up creating a mock up in blender for the background and to help with lighting.
Taking abit of a break from it atm and just planning out the next few illustrations I want to create for a portfolio, all being based on briefs from swatches academy, just torn on whether to try and paint them digitally or stick with oil painting.