Knight Magic
A writer friend of mine, Matt Skipper, approached me about a writing project he’s been working on, and asked me to do some illustrations for it. I was excited about getting to work with my friend, but even more so when he told me the topic of the project would be battle magic. After a few weeks of talking back and forth I got to read some of his writing which conjured some very cool images of battle hardened warriors invoking magic to help them in battle through a connection to a totem animal.
The first image I wanted to do was one centered on a fully armored knight, with the totem animal of a raven, blessing his armor to offer greater protection. I did a few Google searches on ravens and saved several different images as reference. I also gathered around my numerous books on armor and started sketching. I finally settled on a little doodle that captured what I was looking for. The original sketch is no bigger than 2 inches tall.
Knight Magic Initial Sketch
I scanned in the doodle and enlarged it using Photoshop. I then printed it out on Strathmore Bristol paper. I then used my references to ad detail to the drawing, working out a more complete idea of the illustration. After some more scribbling I finally reached a point where the sketch was looking like I wanted.
Knight Magic Sketch
Once again I scanned the sketch into my computer and used Photoshop to clean up the edges. I then printed it out on another piece Strathmore Bristol paper. From there I used my 2H pencil to work up the drawing. This phase took the longest, spending several hours shading and cleaning up my work.
Knight Magic Drawing
Having completed the final drawing I scanned it in and added texture to the illustration in Photoshop.
Knight Magic Textures
Finally I added the special effect of magic using Photoshop and Illustrator.
Knight Magic Effects
All in all I am pleased with the results. Here are a few detail shots of the final illustration.
Knight Magic Detail
Raven Detail
An Artist's Journey 