Fira's Sketch Fest!

[creartive]

as awesome as ever.... I think Ryan got slightly more highlights in his piece.... but you brought a bit more of your own style into yours and thats allways good

[Firathion]

Thank you. You're right! I'm probably not painting enough highlights in my paintings in fear of overdoing it. It's definately something i have to keep in mind from now on. Ty for the feedback

[malcom]

Even if your not adding in the highlights, I personally still like your version. To me things feel subtle but good at the same time. I can still feel the forms turning. Look at artist like Brandon Liao, he has subtle use of lights but things just work. Even in these studies I feel like maybe a little of your self comes to make it different from the original which is a good thing. Anyway keep up the good work.
Quick question is a goal of yours to work at blizzard?

[Firathion]

Oh wow! Brandon Liao's style is fantastic! It's as if he can create those brilliant paintings with just a few brush strokes. His paintings look effortless in a way. He really knows his craft and i really admire that. I will look more into his art, so thanks a lot for mentioning him :).
As for your question, yes. I guess the artists i study and the stuff i draw give it away :). Don't get me wrong. At this point i'm just a self taught student. Most people in my country don't even know of the industry. So i'd feel really happy and blessed just to be able to get in it.
That been said, most of my art heroes have worked at blizzard. Marc's channel helped me so much when i was starting out. I learned so much from him before realizing he works at blizzard (or used to). The same goes for Anthony Jones whose tutorials have been of invaluable worth. Not to mention Laurel D.Austin and Ryan Metcalf whom i'm currently studing. Those two are by far my favorite artists and they are still working there. Having the opportunity to one day work alongside them would be more than a dream come true.
Most importantly, i love Blizzard's games. I think we all have a similar story so i won't go into much details but i grew up with world of warcraft. I've been playing the game for about 9 years now, having played warcraft 3 before that. I found my closest friends through the game. So needless to say that my love and passion for the game and the universe are limitless. In the end this is why i learned to love the particular art style and the artists, maybe even, that's what got me into art.
Working as an artist is one thing. Working as an artist on something you're so passionate about is another.
In the end, i think anyone's performance would be elevated by working on a project they have such sheer passion about, and i think that's a good reason by itself.
So there you go. Sorry for the text wall i guess xP. Cheers!

[Firathion]

Been tackling this little legion guy. Will work on him a bit more to fix a few things, but i decided to post him like this. This is where i got without looking at my referance.

[malcom]

Just wow man I totally know what you mean. To keep things short, this was a great read an reminder to stay focused. Don't be sorry at all. Best of luck to you and your future. I remember a similar artist from the old cb forums and now he does illustrations for blizzard heartstone. His portfolio is here. Just like in this latest studies, your doing really well. Looking back at that original piece you did a while back, I know your own the right path.

For this piece I like the colors you chose. You've really gotten better at making sure the legs aren't as dark. From something you did by not looking at reference, this is a really good job. I think you could've improved on the most was push the proportions of the face like it is in the reference. Try to take notice of the basic shapes as well as the relationships of straights and curves in the design. I also notice you added in subtle highlights which is good. Some areas were missed but it's fine. Your colors seems to always be more saturated than the studies but thats what I personally like about your pieces. Ryan color choices seem to be between saturated and de-saturated but definitely more saturated. This are things I'm noticing and learning and I wasn't the one who did the study. Again keep up the amazing work.

Lastly if you don't mind can you give me some feedback on my latest 2 pieces? Would love to hear your input.

[Firathion]

:o His work is awesome! He's has worked on so many popular cards. His story is really inspirational aswell.
Oh and thanks for your words and support. It means a lot. i'll definately check out your pieces. Cya there

[Firathion]

Quick Ryan Study. Off to do more.

[chris_r_art]

Like always, really great re-make ^^
I actually do like, that your creations don't always look 1:1 like the original...( what I tend to do to just show myself that i can reach that level ) but you also transform the piece
Should have probably said that earlier with some cool stuff you did but better later than never

[Firathion]

Haha, thank you, it means a lot

[creartive]

this legion guy looks allready good ... I tried this one myself and can for sure say that took me some time

[HorizonDweller]

your style is sooo cool, your work is pretty damn cool, I mean, anatomy, composition, color, painting, concepts.... wow... my stuff is kind of meh if i compare hah

[Firathion]

Haha, i think you're too humble but thank you

[Chris_Gardula]

I see these studies of Ryan Metcalf, and Laurel, but I think I'm going to have to start doing studies of your stuff! haha.

Is there anything you could tell me about the way you paint? Because it's definitely a style that I would like to see myself leaning more towards.

[Firathion]

Haha, thanks for the kind words ^^.
So what i tend to do is i start with flat color, then add a second tone for shadow, then once that's looking readable I start doing more rendering by colorpicking and trying to define form.
Here's an example using one of Laurel's illustration. As you can see in the highlighted areas, there are only two or three different tones indicating light and shadow.

As for the rendering process there's nothing special about it. Again, i just color pick either my shadow tone or a light tone and i try to define form, blending with my regular brush. I don't use any fancy texture brushes or whatever. At least not yet as i'm still trying to get better and more cofortable with painting. I recomend checking out some anthony jones tutorials. He's really good at rendering/blending and i learned a lot by watching him paint.
But obviously all of those artists mentioned know a billion more things about art and painting than i do. So i strongly believe that the best way to learn is to study their stuff. That's how i got my style and that's how i'm still learning. But yeah, i hope this helps for now. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. Cheers! ^^

[Firathion]

Here's another one. I'm not used to painting metal or gold and so i had a hard time painting this. I can already say i feel more confortable with these materials. Definately worth it.

[Chris_Gardula]

You're most welcome! haha.

Thanks for the insight, I'll definitely check out those Anthony Jones tutes, and I think I'm gonna follow suit with what you, and a few other artists on CB have done and start doing studies of their pieces.

Thanks again.

Have a good one!

[Firathion]

Another oldie. Saa good! i mean just look at dem values! wow xD

[nukse]

Excellent stuff as usual. Which tutorials of Anthony Jones would you recommend the most?

Keep up the great work!

[hermidraws]

(Totally not hijacking)

Aren't they all like really specific? So its easier to choose what you want to learn. For example, recent one I have watched is Shape Painting + How to study Better, but maybe you currently want to learn more about colors, you guessed it, go with that etc.

There is no best tutorials of his, since they all are specific, and informative. Or you could just grab his weekly discount that he has been doing recently.