Work in Progress: "The Starwatchers"

Some prep work for another dragon painting.

Initially I titled this "The Starwatchers," but now I'm not so sure that's the title I want to stick with. Let me know if a great title springs to your mind for this piece!

In the meantime, here is the initial colored pencil drawing:




And a digital paintover to experiment with colors and composition:

Some digital experiments I've been working on to get the general idea of the lighting for the piece. I still haven't created a maquette yet but I probably will.

Defensive Dragon

So, I've been away for awhile... but I'm back!

Here is something I'll be working through to a finished painting, basically because "I've decided to paint a dragon." These are some preliminary sketches of it-- I'd like to have her peering out from a very dark shadowed place, and her recoil is from the bright light which has surprised her somewhat.

One thing I didn't like about the second sketch is that I overworked the highlights on the dragon's head, which lost the mood of the lighting, in my opinion. So that will be something I need to remember as I tighten up the drawing. I am also planning on making a maquette to photograph, since this anatomy is in such an awkward position that I suspect it will be nearly impossible to make it convincing otherwise!

I am currently planning on painting this in oils, but that could change... I should be posting progress again by next weekend. Please check back to see how she progresses!