FINAL | ARTWAR 2 | 2D | Songbird of the Underworld | tobytee

[tobytee]

Hi everyone, I'm excited to participate in this challenge. I'm still playing around with ideas and sketches right now and will most probably be going with team Dark but that could change in the future.

Edit: I'm going with team Dark!!!

Name: Toby Tee
Email: tobytee96@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Enrust
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toby_tee/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TobyTee96 (I'm new to twitter but feel free to hit me up)

Concept Sheet

Illustration

[tobytee]

Some sketches that I did few days ago.

Starting to settle on a design language and theme. Still trying to come up with something unique to deal with the nudity. I thought of replacing the boobs with demon faces but I still need more iterations of it.

[rgdraw]

Great work, i like your linework style, it looks really
Can't wait to see more!

[tobytee]

Thanks!! I draw them on paper and then scan and compile them in photoshop. Glad you like them

[tobytee]

Some more iterations and shape exploration. Playing around with the idea of combining the human anatomy with a wasp or a dragonfly.

[rgdraw]

Nice i like the idea, it can give something really cool!

[tobytee]

Trying to figure out the mechanics of the wings.

My sketches are starting to repeat themselves so I will be starting to bash these thumbnails together in photoshop to settle on a silhouette.

[tobytee]

I've settled on the silhouette, will be going into secondary details. Doing some research on skeletal and muscular systems to make the design more belivable and reading and searching through mythology and folklore to add more depth to the concept.

[rgdraw]

This is getting more and more refined, and you seem to know where you're going, great work
(If i have to be picky, it feels a bit weird that she doesn't have "human arms" , I would have add that, but it's just me )

[tobytee]

glad to see that that's grabbing your attention. I omitted her arms and gave her wings instead on purpose as it makes for a more fascinating character. It just grabs your attention to have your assumptions of how something should look like be altered abruptly. The execution part of this aspect of her character would be the most challenging as it requires very fine and subtle balance of multiple elements together. Proportion of those elements is a major key.

[rgdraw]

Yes it's so weird, since you have a human body as a base it feels strange without the arms, but I totally understand the choice, it's very bold but It might looks amazing in the end!
Yes the proportion part and the anatomy will be important but l hope fun to play with, good luck !

[tobytee]

Been stuck somewhat as I tried to build and create the proper volume and shape but I managed to come up with a feasible design for her torso. So the major shapes are in place and I can get into designing and adding secondary details.

I found a similar creature design wise to what I'm trying to create called the Alkonost from Russian folklore which has the head of a woman and the body of a bird. It is said to make beautiful sounds that would make those who hear it forget everything so I wanted to add that musical element into my design. I took influences from the modern violin and incorporated it into the design of her torso.
I haven't quite figure out the name of my design but I have a rough idea of what it's going to be, just need to get the right tone to it. I want something poetic if it's possible.

[rgdraw]

I like where this is going, and you add the musical part to it, This is gonna be magical!
Amazing work dude!

[lunasmoon]

I love your design so much, the musical reference is beautiful!
She's so interesting to look at. I'd love to see her flying around =]

[tobytee]

@rgdraw @lunasmoon Thank you!!

[tobytee]

Trying to figure out the volumes and shape of the character in this one. For the concept sheet I've decided to do a 3/4 front and 3/4 back view of her as that way only two views are needed to communicate the design rather than four views which would save precious canvas space.

I tried a few poses for her but for some reason nothing seem to stick and I keep going back to the first 3/4 view which has a portrait orientation.

I finally managed to pinpoint some key emotional elements that I want to convey in the illustration piece. The most important thing being I don't want to portray her as an aggressive, combat type character. Instead, I want to portray her as a beautiful being and want the overall image to give off a sense of nuanced stillness and grace, I don't want anything dramatic or exaggerated either.
So I've decided to go with a stoic pose as in traditional portraiture paintings and attempt to draw out the subtle nuances that will give her character more depth. Kind of like presenting her more of an intricately crafted specimen rather than a character in mid action during a battle. I also feel that this is the best way to present her silhouette.

[rgdraw]

I think this is a great idea, it will be challenging but I'm curious to see those nuances and all, good luck !

[tobytee]

Ahaha , my palms are sweating right now, It took me around 3 hours just to figure out what I wanted to convey in the illustration piece. I hope that I'll be able to pull it off. For now I'm gonna go to bed, I have tomorrow all to myself since it's my day off so I intend to make some significant initial progress for the illustration piece.

[evehartman]

Great concept art! I think it is a bold choice you gave her just wings and no arms, but you are rocking it. Would love to see the illustration designs

[tobytee]

Phew... The most stressful part of figuring out 'what to draw?' has passed. I've gotten the composition down and I'm happy with it. All that's left is to paint her up and add details as I paint along while simultaneously working on the concept sheet. I haven't settled on a name yet but the core concept of her character is that she is a Songbird of the Underworld, singing her song, perching upon the empty shells of souls who have forgotten their own existence.