ART WAR 4 | 2D | War of the Elements | Audrey Wallenstein, The Yuragan Hunter | CanvasEngineer

[CanvasEngineer]

I took a bit of a hiatus but I'm back. I decided on lowering the cape because of the tangent it created with the hands. I'd rather something overlap than be just above or below. Aside from that, I did some exploration of what her long-sleeve would look like under the jacket. It's important to mention that Audrey's travels can take her to some pretty cold places so keeping warm is a must. The sword was brought in with a general color to fit the already configured scheme and work out the dynamics of her power/move-set. It may change later but the actual design of the sword will take priority.

[CanvasEngineer]

Hey, thanks Josie. I'm hoping to showcase some interesting shape play in the final piece but I think the color scheme is doing decently thus far. Appreciate the support

[CanvasEngineer]

Got some time to work on the character tonight and wanted to get a little more specific with the look I'm going for. The shapes weren't working for me in the previous design and I wanted her to lean closer to the colors we associated with water. I was able to get the palette down to roughly 3 colors with 2 additional colors for support. Props and weapons she uses will be worked on next and then finally 2 more supporting characters lol.

[CanvasEngineer]

I did some weapon designing for the sword Audrey carries. It's called "Gintari" which means protector. I don't have time for multiple views and showcasing the sword's capabilities so it'll have to wait for the final piece. I also did a quick sketch of her hunting partner Rozeram. He's pretty cool and I can't wait to showcase his abilities as well.

[CanvasEngineer]

I was planning on skipping straight to the illustration but I have a little more time than I thought. Here's a quick look at what I'll be doing in the piece for Rozeram:

[CanvasEngineer]

I just finished designing my Yuragan Witch. They're essentially corrupt souls. Why they are corrupt can be left up to the imagination

[CanvasEngineer]

took a break but I'm back with a comp sketch for my piece. I had a pretty good idea of at least the elements I wanted to include and the story was set from the get-go. The bottom one is the first version and I just did a value pass over it to direct the eye. I admire the usage of sfumato and chiaroscuro in classical paintings and wanted to reflect that here.

[CanvasEngineer]

Here's a color comp (I enjoy doing these) to get a feel for the final image. There will be a lot more local color throughout but since light determines the majority of a scene's color, it's important to establish the predominant source. I would note that the brightest value hasn't been adjusted to what it will be in the final.

[CanvasEngineer]

I don't like showing this stuff because it's messy but here's a quick doodle of my composition. Rn, I'm thinking of shape arrangement; how do I want to balance the objects within the composition out in order to tell both a functional and captivating story. The values are still somewhat skewed at the focal point but that will be adjusted next. Oh, also some reference I'm using to help push me towards the look I want.

[CanvasEngineer]

More work on the shapes. I thought it'd be fun to add the Yuragan in the foreground sorta laying on the boat after a defeat. Since the image is static, hinting at a progression of time brings a bit more life to the composition. I think now is a good time to get started.

[CanvasEngineer]

here's a WIP shot of my loose drawing. I don't like going super tight with lines as it ruins the flow for me. Towards the end of this stage, I started realizing how much room I left for myself to really have fun with the micro-compositions. I also tackled some value corrections and tried to emphasize the dynamic lighting.

[CanvasEngineer]

Alrighty, this is the final grayscale pass (I think). A big problem I always encounter is how dark my values can get. It's a monitor issue but I try to counteract this by going a bit lighter. I haven't done that here lol. I'll save more value corrections for when I get to a good spot in the painting.

[CanvasEngineer]

Some temperature input. I spent time figuring out what vibe I wanted to create but the adjustments were based on the comp I had earlier. the last one is what I picked, it's going to be fun!

[CanvasEngineer]

got a lot of work to do on this but here's an WIP update. I'm already falling into the joys of painting haha. I love doing this stuff. Somethings to look out for on my part is the level of detail; how much of it is going to be on each subject and how well can I manage my brushstroke economy.

[CanvasEngineer]

btw, the value's on this screenshot are way darker than they are in reality.

[CanvasEngineer]

Another WIP screenshot. I've been zoomed out of the painting for a while so there hasn't really been a focus on details or identification of features. John Singer Sargent talks about this idea of massing in the forms which helps a ton when doing more complicated paintings. It looks a little low-poly but I'll be sure to get in there as best as I can later on.

[CanvasEngineer]

I've got so much work to do on this tomorrow morning lol. Here's a higher-res version of the WIP. I bumped the brightness up for better clarity. Usually using my phone to doublecheck helps me get a sense of what others are looking at.

[CanvasEngineer]

Another WIP. I was trying to push the distance of the environment to give depth to the battle. Still a long way to go.

[CanvasEngineer]

[CanvasEngineer]