Assassin Waiting Game

My wife is pregnant, and her due date was yesterday! No baby yet, she’s having contractions, but they are irregular. We’ve been at home 3 days now. In between clocking contraction times with a stop watch we’ve been fixing up the house, walking, going shopping for stuff for the house, walking, and playing video games. (My wife LOVES video games!) And so we wait…

In addition to all that I spent some time this last week working on a new Oil Painting. That’s right fool, you heard me… I said OIL PAINTING!!! Ever since going to Illuxcon back in 2008 I’ve wanted to do more traditional art (as opposed to digital). Over the last 6 months I have really stepped it up doing a lot more drawing, inking, and painting in acrylic. At Illuxcon 2009 I had to admit that nothing quite compared to the vibrancy of color that an oil painting produced.

So I broke out my messy old oil paints from back in college. I cleaned the tubes, invested in a few new brushes, and a wooden box to store everything in. I decided to use GALKYD as a medium, mixed with GAMSOL (Odorless Mineral Spirits) and Cobalt Drier because this medium really speeds up drying time. For those that know me I am a man of action, and not very good at waiting. I am MUCH more patient now than I was in my early twenties, but I’m afraid I’m still the product of the video game generations, and we like things fast!

That said, when I work on a painting (or anything I really love) I achieve a hypnotic focus and attention to detail that is unmatched by most mortal men. But the second I have to wait for the thing to dry I go crazy! I mean it’s called painting, not waiting! Knowing all this is what led me to the mediums above. GALKYD increases the drying time of oils to about 24 hours (give or take depending upon weather and humidity), mixed with GAMSOL to increase fluidity (GALKYD is a bit thick, kinda like watery toothpaste), and then add two drops (and I mean only two!) of Cobalt Drier. All that mixed together brings the drying time of oils to about 4 to 6 hours!

That means I can start a paint session in the morning, paint for about 2 or 3 hours, take a break and come back and paint some more! Take a break, paint some more, etc… It was awesome, and definitely something I will try again.

And so without further ado, here is the final drawing that I did as prep for the painting. The subject is the Assassin Devil, done as a part of the Art Order Blog competition Creature Retread.

Assassin Devil Drawing by Sam Flegal

And here is the Oil Painting!

Assassin Devil Oil Painting by Sam Flegal

I am very pleased with the results.

Hopefully when next we chat I will be able to introduce you to my latest work of art… BABY FLEGAL!

The Deck of the Planes from Scribbles to Print

For the upcoming book on Jesters from Alluria Publishing I had the task of illustrating a magical deck of cards used by Jesters. What follows is a description of my process of working through the commission from beginning to end.

I started with the description from Alluria:

————

The Deck of the Planes: A magical deck used by Jesters. This deck has four unique suites. Suite of Chaos, Suite of Sea, Suite of Shadow, and Suite of Wild.

Suite of Chaos: Ever changing, everything about this Suite is in constant flux

Suite of Sea: This Suite glows slightly shimmering with scales.

Suite of Shadow: Cool to the touch no two people see this Suite in the same way.

Suite of Wild: This Suite vibrates to the touch, and those who hold its cards often hear the sounds of nature and her beasts roaring inside them.

————

I read and re-read the text. Alluria also included information on how the Jesters could use the cards to cast various spells. The challenge was trying to depict a whole deck of cards in a way that can be shown in only a couple illustrations. I started to doodle and let my imagination wander.

In order to free up my imagination I put down a few scribbles in a 30% gray marker. Then I used pen to start pulling details out of the marker. After a few doodles I settled on the idea of showing the King of each suite. That way I could capture the unique feel of each suite in a way that the viewer could compare across each image.

Using the descriptions as my guides I continued to doodle and scribble in my sketchbook using marker and pen. I then scanned the scribbles in, lightened the image, and digitally scribbled a bit more.

King of Wild Sketch

 

King of Shadows Sketch

 

King of Sea Sketch

 

King of Chaos Sketch

 

Then I printed the scribbles out very lightly on Bristol paper, and drew a very tight pencil drawing of each King.

King of Wild & Shadow Pencil Drawing

 

King of Sea & Chaos Pencil Drawing

 

I scanned those in and printed them out again very lightly on Bristol paper and did a value drawing in Burnt Umber Acrylic Ink.

King of Wild Ink

 

King of Shadow Ink

 

King of Sea Ink

 

King of Chaos Ink

 

Finally I scanned those in and digitally altered them to ad color and make them look like cards. I also added a unique “K” to each piece to make sure they looked like the King of a Suite. The nice thing about doing the Burnt Umber Ink drawings is that it makes it easier to alter the color digitally.

King of Wild

 

King of Shadow

 

King of Sea

 

King of Chaos

 

In the end I had four unique Kings of the various Suites from the Deck of the Planes and a happy client.

Alluria Publishing’s book on Jesters is do out at the end of January 2010.

Mananangal Strikes again!

My Mananangal painting was just featured in an article on All Music Junkies website. Check it out!!!

http://www.allmusicjunkies.com/magazine/flash-fiction-aswang-love-story.html

Manananggal, Acrylic on Board

A Happy Zombie Christmas to All!

Bill & Maggie Christmas Card

I received this card the day after Christmas and I was super excited! I drew this Zombie Portrait for Bill and Maggie back at Gen Con in August. It’s so cool to see that they actually used it for their Christmas Cards this year! How Fun!

Thank You Bill and Maggie for including me in your Christmas this year!

Happy Zombie Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

Painting a Jester in Acrylic

One of the great things about hanging out with other artists is getting to hear about their processes. I’ve already gone into a great deal of detail on my Illuxcon 2009 experiences, and all the advice I received from industry professionals talking with them about their processes and avidly listening to the advice they offered.

The other thing that makes Illuxcon awesome is getting to hang out with other up-and-comers, like myself. Hearing about their processes is often just as enlightening as the professionals. Art is such a personal thing that what works for one person might not work for another.

One little gem that I got from fellow artist, Marc Scheff, was that after he did a sketch for an illustration, he would go over to his computer and write a short story on what was happening in the scene. He said he would only write a few paragraphs, but the few details that came about from the writing often added a lot to his paintings. After he told me that he smiled and told me that I was free to use his process.

For the last several months I’ve been working on a series of illustrations for a new book from Alluria Publishing on Jesters. Many of the pieces were in my portfolio that I showed around at Illuxcon. After Illuxcon I began work on the cover for the Jester book. I wanted this illustration to use many of the techniques I learned at Illuxcon, additionally after finishing the Filipino Vampire in traditional acrylic paint, I wanted to do another acrylic painting.

Based on the info I had on Jesters from Alluria I gleaned a few things that needed to go in the cover illustration: Jesters channeled magic from ancient and wild magical convergences called Henges.; Jesters wear scale armor, but in the bright colors you would expect from a jester; Jesters juggle multiple magic orbs to cast their spells.

Keeping those few things in mind I did a few sketches and finally settled on a composition that I liked. I then went out into the woods with my brother-in-law Gabe to shoot some reference photography. Finally I wrote the following little paragraph:

• “The Jester rose from the Henge, the ancient site where the magical energy converged. He summoned forth the arcane power of the orb, and as he did so the ancient guardians of this sacred place began to laugh at the insanity of the Jester’s power.”

Using all the above I then did a more refined sketch.

Jester Sketch by Sam Flegal

 

Then I scanned in the sketch and printed it on Strathmore 500 series Bristol paper at the final size of 11 x 16. Using the sketch as a guide I inked the sketch, first with black acrylic ink, and then next in sepia (brown) ink. Inking the drawing is a technique I picked up from Steve Ellis, which he outlines very clearly in his book Scream.

Jester Ink Drawing by Sam Flegal

 

I then scanned the inked drawing and printed it out on another piece of Strathmore 500 series Bristol paper at the final size of 11 x 16. Using acrylic medium I glued the print to massonite board. Finally I built up several layers of acrylic medium over the print, sanding in between each coat to build up a smooth firm surface to paint on. The method of attaching prints to massonite in this way was developed by Donato Giancola, and you can read more about it on his website.

Now I was ready to start painting! The first thing I did was do an under painting using Burnt Umber and Titanium White to create a value study. I first went into all the dark areas building up the mid tones and shadows. Whenever I felt lost I pulled the black acrylic ink back out and re-inked the painting (another tip I learned from Steve Ellis). This helped maintain the structure of the painting as I added more and more layers. Finally I went in and built up the lights. It is MUCH easier to work from mid-tones, establish darks, and then lights. Otherwise you can loose the tonality of your piece by making something to bright.

Jester Under Painting by Sam Flegal

 

After that I toned the entire piece with several coats of Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue. This was by far the most nerve-racking part of the process. Partially because the under painting was not completely dry and some of it came off during the washes. Unlike digital there was no going back. I let the painting fully dry over night. My wife can attest that I was rather shaken by the process.

Jester Blue Tone by Sam Flegal

 

Just like with the under painting the advantage of toning the piece with blue washes was that I had created mid tones and could then go in and establish the darks and the lights. Starting with the background that’s exactly what I did. Once I finished the background I moved onto the figure making sure that the colors I used were brighter than the ones in the background so that the Jester would really pop of the page.

Jester by Sam Flegal

 

Detail of Jester Cover by Sam Flegal

 

All said and done I am very pleased with the final piece and all that I learned applying the tools I gained at Illuxcon.

Thank you to all who reviewed my portfolio and offered me tips on their own processes. This piece is directly linked to all that I have learned at this time.

Tales of Illuxcon (Part 4)

Justin Gerard is an artist I have been following for a little over a year now. I first discovered his art when doing a Google search for “combining traditional and digital art.” What amazes me about his process is that he starts with a fairly detailed watercolor painting and then scans it in to do a fully rendered digital painting over the top. The finished result is an impressive mix of digital and traditional painting. (For an example of his process check out his blog.)

Sam Flegal and Justin Gerard with Reluctant Dragon Print

When I saw Justin was going to be at Illuxcon I was very excited and made sure to take the opportunity to speak with him. We talked for more than half an hour about his process, traditional and digital art, the future of digital art, and my portfolio. I had a blast talking with Justin and was very thankful for his insights. To top it all off I purchased one of his art prints of his painting of the Reluctant Dragon. This will hang in my soon to be arriving (end of January) baby’s room. (My wife and I are decorating in friendly dragons!)

 

Card Shark by Sam Flegal & The Puppeteer by Thomas Kuebler

 

 

Another one of my influences is Thomas Kuebler, a sculptor who makes amazingly disturbing life like sculptures. I was pleased to be able to show him my Goblin Card Shark piece in which I referenced the hat worn by his Puppeteer. I also thanked him for the tips and advice he has on his website to help up and coming artists trying to make it. We then proceeded to talk about how much we both liked BROM. Which led my friend Grant to start telling us about BROM’s book the Devil’s Rose, which is about a bounty hunter sent from Hell to return lost souls to the Devil. After Grant finished Mr. Kuebler looked at me and said, “Sam… we need this book!” So Thomas Kuebler and I then went over to the bookshop and each grabbed a copy of Devil’s Rose, then went to BROM’s table and got him to sign it. I then had the privilege to photograph Thomas Kuebler and BROM! It’s so cool to realize that my heroes are just as big of art geeks as I am.

Sam Flegal, Scream Queen, and Thomas Kuebler

I then walked on over to Steve Prescott’s table to marvel at his wonderful illustrations. I religiously follow Steve’s Draw Blog and was excited to talk with him. After he looked over my portfolio he gave me some tips on how to make my Filipino Vampire piece a little more gruesome by adding highlights in the bloody areas.

Towards then end of Illuxcon I was able to track down Jon Schindehette who is the Senior Art Director at Wizard’s of the Coast for Dungeons and Dragons. He also runs a blog called Art Order (if you’re an artist and you don’t read it you’re missing out). Those of you keeping up may recall that Jon reviewed my portfolio back in August at Gen Con, where I got some very specific and helpful feedback. At Illuxcon I caught Jon in between seminars and the numerous portfolio reviews he was doing. I asked him for a portfolio review and he agreed. I was pleased to tell him that all the pieces in my portfolio where new (that’s right folks five new paintings in a little more than two months!).

Jon flipped through my book and then settled back on the Harlequin Dancer piece. He told me that I was very close and that he’d like to see a whole portfolio full of pieces of the caliber as the Harlequin Dancer. He then offered a few simple changes that would make the piece stronger. He said I needed to knock back the trees in the background just a bit with a little more blue. That the dancer’s left arm was thinner than her right. He explained that neither size of arm was wrong, but that I needed to decide which to use. He suggested adding an element that helps the viewer flow back into the piece, since both the rock and the dancer point out of the piece. He recommended that I render the tree just a little further as it is the second most important element in the piece. He then added that to ad grace to the dancers point I should consider re-doing the arm she is pointing with because her elbow and hand are locked in place. If I instead had the elbow and wrist bent a bit and had her fingers fan out it would make the dancer seem more lithe, which he felt would increase the mood of the painting.

Once again I was very thankful for Jon’s comments. He is excellent at providing very specific feedback. Based on his comments and the comments of Secondary Narrative by Donato Giancola I plan to work a little further on the Harlequin Dancer piece. At this point I only have about 8 hours into the painting I figure with another 2 or 3 I can really pump it up!

Which is exactly how Illuxcon left me feeling… PUMPED UP ABOUT ART!!! I’m really looking forward to this next year. I think it’s going to bring a lot of great things for me, my family and friends, and my carrier. Another THANK YOU to all the folks that reviewed my portfolio. I hope to see all my Illuxcon friends at Illuxcon next year and maybe even sooner!

If you’re an artist who didn’t go to Illuxcon this year start planning now to go next year. The opportunity is unlike any other in existence.

Look back here soon for updates to the Harlequin Dancer and other post Illuxcon 2009 art!

Two Steves and a Donato, More Illuxcon Tales (Saturday Part 1)

Saturday at Illuxcon began at the crack of noon. You know us artist types and early mornings! I started the day off by watching a painting demo by Donato Giancola on Portrait Painting in Oil. There is nothing like watching a master at work. I was so impressed by his demo that I plan to purchase his video on oil painting.

After the demo I started wandering the show room floor talking with as many different artists and art directors as I could. I really appreciate everyone that took the time to talk with me and I have a few highlights to share.

I’ll start with Stephan Hickman, who was the featured artist at Dragon Con back in 2008. He’s the reason I went to the first Illuxcon and one of the first people to ever review my portfolio. When my wife and I talked with Stephen back at Dragon Con it came out that Stephen had spent some time in his youth in the Philippines. For those who don’t know my wife is Filipino and she and Stephen really hit it off. At Illuxcon last year my wife brought a book on Tagalog (Filipino dialect) to give to Stephen, but he had to cancel at the last second. This year my wife sent me with the book and I was able to deliver it for her and thank Stephen in person for inviting me to the first Illuxcon.

I made sure to talk with Donato Giancola. After all the great seminars I had been to where he was speaking I wanted to get his thoughts on my portfolio. After flipping through he keyed in on the Harlequin Dancer (this would come to be the norm). He commented that it was my strongest work, and that I was very close. He said that where it fell short was in the Secondary Narrative. Now this was not a term I had heard before so I asked him to explain what he meant by Secondary Narrative. Here is what he explained:

“To take the piece to the next level you need to really push the concept of what will happen next in the story. Think about where the character is going, what the character is doing, and what will happen immediately after the scene shown in the image.

In your Harlequin piece you immediately ask why is she pointing? Is she leading an army or a small band of heroes? Why is she on that rock, yes it looks cool, but there is nothing in the piece to explain the background story. The Primary Narrative is cool dancer heroine, with a detailed costume, in a dynamic pose. The Secondary Narrative fills in the details.”

At this point I had never had anyone explain this concept so clearly and concisely. Donato just laid it all out in the open in a way that seemed so simple. In that moment he changed the way I think about art and composing an image. Needless to say I was floored!

Steve Ellis and Sam Flegal

One of my biggest art influences right now is Steve Ellis, and I was very excited to learn that he had arrived late to the show. I’d been keeping an eye on his booth waiting patiently until he was all set up, at which point I rushed over (what can I say I’m an art fan boy). I met Steve last year at Illuxcon where I really enjoyed his demo on composing an action scene (read more here). Over the last year I’ve been sending Steve updates as I ad new pieces to my website. My most recent work has only just been added to my website, and I haven’t sent out an update yet, so I asked Steve to review my portfolio. He keyed in on the Harlequin piece like most, but he also noted the Manananggal (Filipino Vampire). He encouraged me to do more Filipino monsters, which I plan to do, and also encouraged me to let my style come out more in my work. He stated that, “If you asked most fantasy artists to draw a dragon they would all look more or less the same, but if he asked me to draw one he had a feeling it would turn out to be a gross worm thing with drool and blood pouring out of its mouth.” He then explained that being different in the art field is not a bad thing and that I should focus on cultivating that rather than hiding it. He then challenged me to do a piece the quality of the Harlequin Dancer in traditional media rather than digital.

I then proceeded to buy all sorts of goodies from Steve. His new comic trade paperback, High Moon, was out. So I picked that up. I also got his new art book Scream: Draw Classic Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Monsters, and More. What enticed me about Scream was that Steve explained both his traditional art process and digital art process, showing how both media help the other. I plan on doing a review of the book soon, so keep an eye peeled. In addition I purchased two prints. Now what’s cool about Steve is that he does little drawings on the inside cover whenever he sells a book. He drew a werewolf on the inside of my copy of High Moon, but what was really special to me was that he did a Zombie Portrait of yours truly on the inside of my copy of Scream. HOW FREAKIN’ COOL!!!

Zombie Portrait of Sam Flegal by Steve Ellis

At this point I had a LOT to chew on so I took a break and tried to write down as much as I could in my notebook. Let’s us take another break too…

Join me soon for Illuxcon Saturday Part 2!

Room 112 is where the party’s at! IlluXCon 09 Part 2

After the bronze pouring Grant and I headed back to the hotel. We chilled in the room for about an hour, talking about how crazy awesome our first day had been, when we had the first knock at our door. Now I was expecting Eric Fortune and Ray, but who walks in… none other than Dan Dos Santos!

Sam Flegal, Dan Dos Santos, Grant Cooley

We, of course, offer Dan some drinks, and begin hanging out. A little bit later Scott Altmann drops by with his friend Marc Scheff. Soon after Dan asks to see Grant and my portfolios. While looking over our portfolios, Eric Fortune and Ray show up. Before we know it, our room is filled with award-winning art professionals, aspiring artists, and one of the coolest guys ever, Raymond Eulises Valentin!

Sam Flegal, Eric Fortune, Grant Cooley, Raymond Eulises Valentin

After Dan finished looking over my portfolio, he commented that I had good stuff and was on the edge of crossing over from amateur artist to professional. He then encouraged me to go to the Illustration Master Class, where Dan is one of the teachers. He explained that if I would give him the seven days in the master class to work with him, he’d show me how to take my work to the next level!

After Dan flipped through, Eric took a look. Now Eric saw my portfolio at last year’s IlluXCon. (You can read more about that here). When he finished, he set down the book and said, “Sam you have come a LONG way in the last year.” Which of course made me feel really good!

My friend Grant had similar experiences when folks reviewed his portfolio, which was great! With that little bit of self-promotion out of the way the party was really getting started! About this point, the wine ran out and we all headed down to the hotel bar.

When we got there the party had already started! The drinks were plentiful and affordable, the DJ was rockin’, and everywhere you looked there were artists and industry professionals! Last year the partying was my favorite part; well this year was even better! I made sure to stop by and buy a drink for Rob Rey, another artist who taught me how to make better use of my Epson 1280 printer last year at IlluXCon, a tool that has come in very handy prepping for all the art conventions I’ve been doing!

In the midst of all the partying I had the privilege of making the acquaintance of Cynthia Sheppard. Now Cynthia was not showing at IlluXCon–she was an attendee just like me–and when she showed me her portfolio I was floored! Her work is AMAZING!!! Later I would find out that she’s been featured in ImagineFX magazine! What a cool place IlluXCon, where little gems like Cynthia are hidden throughout the crowd!

Cynthia Sheppard

After the partying and portfolio-swapping, things started to wind down at the bar. So Dan Dos Santos invited us back to his room for vodka! And the party continued! My friend Grant even ended up with an original Dan Dos Santos drawing on his badge! I’ll just leave it to your imagination what Dan drew, but needless to say, Grant had to hide his badge throughout the day on Saturday.

By 4am I was fading. So I called it a night. IlluXCon Day One was complete, but we still had Saturday, and oh what a Saturday it would be…

BROM Borrowed my Ketchup and other IlluXCon Tales

This was my second year going to IlluXCon and it was AMAZING!!! This year I went with my good friend Grant Cooley, who is also an aspiring illustrator and a great artist. We flew into Pittsburgh Thursday and then drove over to Altoona, PA.

By the time we arrived on Thursday, things were wrapping up. We left IlluXCon and checked into the hotel. We hung out in the bar for a bit and then called it a night. Little did we know that this would be the last bit of sleep we would be getting for the next three days!

Friday morning started off with a bang! Grant is a gym nut, so he went to work out. Turns out Don Maitz, creator of Captain Morgan, had the same idea. When I went to get Grant so we could go to breakfast, I found him working out and chatting with Don! How cool!

At breakfast, one of my art heroes BROM, got seated next to us. Later he asked to borrow our ketchup! I know, right … pretty cool, but things were only getting started. I spent most of breakfast pointing out to Grant all the famous artists that were around the room. IlluXCon is a really special convention for this reason. Where else do you see Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell eating eggs on one side of the room while on the other is BROM eating potatoes!

Sam Flegal and BROM

Once we got to the convention center Grant and I rushed over to a panel on the Art of Self Promotion. The speakers were Donato Giancola, Ruth Sanderson, Caniglia, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell. They began by explaining where each of them came from and how they got their start. One thing I thought was cool was that Julie Bell didn’t get her start until she was 30. Just another example of it never being too late to start doing what you LOVE!

A few gems the group passed onto us were to always be self-confident, keep a positive attitude, and do what it takes. They recommended updating your website as often as possible and trying to be consistent on when you update it. Doing it once a week or once a month matters less than getting in a pattern of updates that’s easy for other people to follow. The last thing I really took away was this: WORK HARD and STAND OUT! It is important to have work of equal caliber as the top names in your field; if you don’t, continue to hone your craft. In order to stand out consider doing crazy hard stuff, like a illustration with thirty or more figures in it, etc…

We then went to an acrylic painting demo by Michael Whelan and Chris Moeller. All I can say is wow! One tip they shared was starting on a gray or mid-tone covered canvas. This allows you to lay in the darks and then pull out the lights. Whelan kept a hair dryer on hand just in case he saw something he liked that happened by accident so that he could preserve it. He also used a sharpened chopstick at one point to paint hair! It was really impressive to watch these two champs work!

I had to leave the painting demo to go and do my scheduled portfolio review with Lou Anders, editorial director for Pyr books. My review with Lou set the tone for most of my portfolio reviews throughout the weekend. He honed in on my Harlequin Dancer piece and said that when I had five more just like it (and she was the last piece in my portfolio rather then the first), I should start getting regular work. I was so HAPPY!!! This was the first time anyone had told me that I was close!

Harlequin Dancer by Sam Flegal

After that I met back up with Grant. We then ran into Eric Fortune and his friend Ray. In between witty banter and basic bull shitting, it was decided that we needed to go get some wine before the bronze pouring … yes there was a legit bronze pouring by Vincent Villafranca and it was awesome!

Between 2000-degree fire and drinks the night got off to a great start!

But, more on that later…

Manananggal, the Filipino Vampire in COLOR!!!

After many weeks working on this project I am pleased to announce that it is finished! Since going to Illuxcon last year I’ve wanted to branch out into more traditional painting. I happen to have a lot of acrylic paint left over from college art classes, so that seemed like the natural way for me to start. Over the last year I have learned a TON about painting and illustration. And after a lot of research I set out on the task of painting an honest to god, with real brushes and paint, no digital painting!

To start I wanted to do a black and white drawing of the Manananggal. I did some sketches and multiple thumbnails. I then scanned in the ones I liked (O.K. maybe it’s not completely without digital) and I resized them to fit 9×12. I then printed it out very lightly on Bristol board. I then used marker and pen to do the black and white version of the Filipino Vampire (which you can read more about in my older post).

I then scanned in the black and white piece and printed it out on a piece of Bristol board. I then followed a process I learned about at Illuxcon where you attach a piece of paper to masonite board and then build the painting up on top of the drawing. A detailed description of this process can be found on Donato Giancola’s website.

The quick version is that I used acrylic medium as a glue to attach the print of my drawing to masonite board. I then added further coats of the medium on top of the drawing and sanded them down to create a smooth painting surface. The reason for this is to preserve the original drawing. A lot of artists loose really amazing drawings because they paint right on top of them. Donato Giancola wanted to keep his drawings so he developed this method. I also wanted to keep my drawing because I was a little afraid that my painting would suck, and at least I’d have a descent drawing even if I screwed up the painting.

And so… after a few hours of applying medium, waiting for it to dry, sanding that down, and doing all that a few more times I was ready to start. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I learned a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT about painting. There really is no better teacher than just doing it! (Thank you Nike)

More than THIRTY hours later I present you with the color version of the Manananggal (Filipino Vampire). I hope you enjoy!

Manananggal, Acrylic on Board

Here is a detail of the face:

Close Up of the Face