Special Commission

Sometime in December, I was commissioned to participate in a project for a client and was given some basic perameters for working. The story line is being kept under wraps for now, so I can't give any specifics other than to say that it's a fantasy story involving a large "international" meeting of women (as you can see from the sketches).

I started with a few small compositional ideas to get the general layout of the space and the perspective that would allow for a panoramic view of a wide river and a tent city in the distance.  Once the client settled on what he thought could work for the story, I began to flesh out the scene, adding discrete characters, clothing, accoutrements, and other important elements to the story like the dogs and dragon companions.

 There are still a few more small things to be worked out in the sketch, but I will post updates on this project as it evolves into underpainting and color.

Update on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 1:30PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

Here's a follow-up on the Special Project I'm working on.  

Right now, the painting is in an "underpainting" stage; it's messy, somewhat monocromatic and limited, and lacks the real details that the final painting will have. Still, it's a phase a painting's gotta go through and it doesn't look like much, but it will at the end. One just has to have faith in the process.

 If you compare the drawing closely enough to the nascent painting image, you will see that I've made several changes to it, including shifting the sizes and positions of the characters somewhat, changing poses, and tightening up the faces...

 To help me get the right look for the characters and accurate lighting, I sculpted several maquettes to assist me: 

I needed a few different "genetic types" to get as far as I've gotten with the painting, and I will probably make a few more before I've finished. They have proven to be quite useful as I can light them and place them in different perspective positions. Having them takes a lot of the guesswork out of the painting and makes the characters seem more solid and realistic.

I'll post more as the painting progresses...

Update on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 1:58PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

A week later, the underpainting is fairly finished with most of the value structure in place and the characters are more or less resolved; you can see that I've made even more changes to the drawing. 

I'll post again soon..

 

Update on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 6:41PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

Progress on "The Special Project" has been slow but steady, and I'm ready to post another image to update my followers. As you can see, I've done a bit more revising even in the final layers of paint, making sure that my design works well and that the contrasts help the flow of the entire piece. Also, I didn't know how the carpet was going to look and finally decided that it should be a map of some sort...

Here's a close-up of the first group of characters:

 

As it creeps toward completion, I will post more pics.

Update on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 1:43PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

It's been a while since I'd posted an update on this project.  I had another project deadline and had to set this aside for a few weeks, but I've gotten back on it recently and anticipate much more of it to be completed by the end of next week since my schedule will be more open.  Finally, I've been able to work on the dragons! Slowly, but surely, it is filling in.

Update on Monday, July 18, 2011 at 3:38PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

Almost finished...

Update on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 1:42PM by Kristin Kest Illustration

Here's the finished image, scanned and color-corrected.