(Yes, that’s yet another “new” logo/variation…I can’t stop!)
So I’ve had griffons and chimeras on the brain lately. I’m not positive what started it specifically, other than seeing some beautiful artistic interpretations while browsing through Pinterest looking for visual inspiration. One artist, who goes by RobtheDoodler on deviantart.com , did some wonderful owl cat griffon drawings that really got my brain spinning (go check out the series of drawings he did of his critter, they’re awesome!). What would various griffons look like with different combinations of birds and cats? Why not different sizes? What about other mixes of animals? How about chimeras suited for different environments (water, desert, jungle, etc)?
Anyway, after letting the idea stew for a bit, I broke out my new greytone sketch book and art supplies (courtesy of my lovely wife) and started doodling.
Just working with ballpoint pen here.
I came up with a general combination I liked for a cold climate: polar bear, snowy owl/eagle owl (they have feather covered legs and feet that look well suited for the cold), snow leopard, ibex, condor, and a bit of lion.
Adding some tones with the greyscale Copic markers.
He’s a bit stiff and lacks life right now, but I was mostly just trying to come up with a concept and get something down on paper. I’d love to go spend some time doing some nature drawings at a zoo, in the wild, or a natural history museum. My brain generally knows anatomy, but I don’t translate it well, I think. I definitely need some more observational practice.
Added some whites and highlights with the white Gellyroll pen and a tiny bit of white colored pencil.
This is pretty much where the sketch is now. I’ve pulled it into Photoshop and plan on doing a full painting based on it in the near future (gotta finish up Willy McEyeballs first, though). Hopefully I’ll get to spend some time doing some more animal anatomy studies, whether on location or from photo references (books and online), before I tackle this one (and the others forming in my brain). I definitely want to try to get these creatures looking believable and “alive” and put them in convincing environments behaving “naturally”. This should be a fun exercise that will push me to grow more both in terms of artistic skill and all around creativity. I hope. I feel like I’m playing catch up skill-wise for the decade-plus where I barely picked up a pencil because I was too busy being a stay-at-home dad. My skills definitely aren’t where I think they should be, or want them to be, but I think that’s a bit like chasing the wind anyway. As soon as I improve, I set the bar further away for myself. But, it’s all about that journey at the end of the day, continually striving to be better today than yesterday, so while I can be a bit impatient, I’m not discouraged.
Greytone sketchbook! Why haven’t I ever thought of that!? Brilliant. Guess I’ll have to grab some paints and “wash” my leftover sketchbooks…
I’ve always considered toning my paper with my dirty shammy from college (it’s probably still loaded with enough charcoal), I liked working off a midtone. The greyscale and sepia notebooks are pretty cool, it kind of demands that you have a source of white, though. I have those Gellyrole white pens that are pretty good, but the ink can be a little goopy or spotty based on my initial experiments. I just got another white pen that’s supposed to be nicer but I haven’t played with it yet. White paint with a brush and white colored pencil are both on my list to muck around with, too.
Don’t forget the “opaque white” from Copic (that came in a little glass jar) – that is supposed to be the shiznitz for white highlighting… 🙂
I haven’t forgotten it, it’s just not as portable as a pen. I’ll play with that in studio.