WIP Wednesday
Ok, sorry, technically it's Thursday but this is still a WIP post. I had been asked by my agent to create a new piece for my portfolio and the deadline was tight. I had a few other sketches for development but I felt that this scene was something I could complete in a couple days.
This is a preview of what I originally submitted.
Now this is a good example of why it's good to have someone to bounce a piece off of. I had been pretty happy with how this looked. I figured for the tight deadline I was able to complete a piece with a fair bit of details.
It was bounced back and my agent really opened my eyes to things that I really hadn't noticed when I submitted it. She mentioned that it was a bit of a departure to my normal highly detailed, textured style. It was "almost there" but could use more time developing. She was a bit worried that it showed a departure from my other works creating a disconnect in my portfolio.
I was really happy to have the extra time and feedback to work on this. I had really liked the idea but there was something niggling at me that prevented me from really enjoying the piece.
After a few more hours of work, I was able to add much more details, texture and depth. I also changed the composition a bit by removing the pointing girl in the foreground.
This is the revised version. Although I'm not sure if this will also get bounced back, I really like how it looks now. The interaction between the girl and boy is much more the focal point of the piece (the other girl was distracting). I was also able to add more plants and details which I always enjoy doing. Finally I added more textures and layers of watercolors and drawn details that make the illustration much more complete and lush.
Here are a few close up of some detailed areas:
Tools used:
- Kyle’s Runny Inkers – lines on seaweed
- Give Me Watercolour Textures Quick – watercolor textures on background areas
- Kyle’s Ultimate Megapack for Photoshop – added textures to corals, mermaids (highlights on hair and tail)
Sorry I probably sound like a broken record but I really love these tools and use them a great deal in my work!