Monday, September 25, 2006

Something Wicked- Inks and colour

As promised, here's the inked and coloured version of the Something Wicked back cover illo I posted a couple of entries back.

As you've probably noticed, I've flipped and rotated the original pencil for the final version. This was a last minute decision after colouring, as I thought the original concept (guy falling into gaping mouth of monster) was getting a bit stale. I'm not sure if it's because I'd spent the last few days looking at it while inking and colouring but when I flipped it, it seemed a lot fresher and the flow and design worked better for me. Yeah I know, the guy's now falling up. But is he falling now or flying? Is he a victim or the hero? The ambiguous meaning of the piece and the fact that turning it upside down drastically changed the look of the creature, are two big pluses for me. Also now you can clearly see the hidden face I snuck in to the left of the open mouth. Anyway let me know what you think, which one you think works better etc.

This was inked pretty fast (A3, brushpen and 0.4 felt tip, about 2hrs...well, that's fast for me anyway), and i'm very happy with the spontaneity of the fast brushwork. Colours were a bit tougher. Originally it began as just a red monotone colour scheme, then to a fully rendered greeny-bluey colour, then a combination of the two which is pretty much what this version is, with a bit of extra tweaking. The blackness of the linework was a bit overpowering, so I lightened it slightly to a dark reddish purple.

Also here are some detail shots.

15 Comments:

Blogger J. Nowland said...

Hey Chris... These colours are great... good job... PEACE!
J

7:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeebus mate, you know they're going to be putting this on display backwards in the stores!

Nicely done - digging the ambiguity of the person flying/falling as well. Colours (especially the lips in the lower left) are top notch.

Anyhoo, I'm off to sob somewhere in silence while feeling inadequate ;)

-SI

12:30 PM  
Blogger Erica Rosario said...

wow chris :)
-erica

1:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is great. Who would have thought something as simple as inverting could change the look and feel so drastically? I think the monster is definately more menacing this way.

Also, I was wondering if you have a place in your blog specific to questions people might have... I never know where to post them?

-Patrick

1:04 PM  
Blogger Chris Wahl said...

Thanks everyone.

Patrick- You can post your question here. It doesn't matter if it's not related to the post. Either that or email it to me, or post it in the CWFAQ section.

4:23 PM  
Blogger Seo Kim said...

thats really gross... in a really good way!

2:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Chris. My question is, what advice would you offer to someone looking to someday work in your field? Really, this breaks down into about a million more questions, but the main one is: where to start? I have the raw talent, or so people tell me, but I have no clue how to turn it from talent to skill and from skill to a career. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Patrick

12:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm 29. Is it too late to start learning to draw? Is it a gift for you do or can that lvl of skill be learned? As a computer programmer I can't satisfy my artistic side in the way I would like to.

Love your work...keep it coming.

5:00 AM  
Blogger Chris Wahl said...

madamegaston- Thanks Seo. It's always a treat visiting your blog.

Patrick- Gee you guys ask the tough questions!

As you said this is a multi-faceted answer but I'll do my best.

Besides the obvious advice of 'drawing 10 times more than anyone you know', life drawing and a collection of good anatomy books my advice is, surround yourself with like-minded people. The biggest leap I made in my art was when I started working at Disney. It wasn't so much the skills that the job taught, but being surrounded by so many other people interested in all different artforms, really caused my art to flourish. For starters it's essential for improvement to show your artwork around for tips and criticism not only to friends and family but more importantly to people who are artists themselves and have most likely made those same mistakes in the past, and as a result can offer invaluable advice. Obviously you can't all run out tomorrow and get a job at Disney, but other avenues like art courses, posting art on art orientated internet forums (Drawing Board etc), life drawing, college or university, or even showing your portfolios at conventions can all help an artist improve in leaps and bounds.

Halo- It's never too late to start, and natural talent is only a very small part of a successful artist. Other traits like imagination, perseverance, patience and passion are all just as important.

Saying that, I started seriously honing my skills at about 12 years old, and it took me about 10 years to get to a reasonably professional level. It does take time and many bad drawings to get there, but as long as you can see improvement over time and if you are enjoying what you do, then you're well on the way. Also the advice I gave Patrick above is applicable too.

Hope I've answered your questions fully, guys.

8:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

thank you Chris. I have to say that your art has been a huge inspiration. I get frustrated at times, and sometimes I think I waited too long to start honing my skill (I'm 24). But seeing the stuff you've put up here has only pushed me to work harder at it. Thank you for spending the time to answer questions for your fans as well. I really appreciate it!

-Patrick

9:25 AM  
Blogger Chris Wahl said...

No prob, Patrick. Glad I could help out.

5:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful work, as usual. It does look better flipped.

5:29 PM  
Blogger Chris Wahl said...

Thanks Anton.

8:00 PM  
Blogger Andrew Glazebrook said...

Stunning work !

3:17 AM  
Blogger Chris Wahl said...

Once again...thankyou!

8:17 PM  

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