Nick's Rage Against the Machine Spot

[Nickillus]

Ooh you don't want to get in there Steve. So messy and disorganised.
No you are quite right about the shadows being sort of warm in this candle one, as opposed to the more obvious choice of blues to complement the orange glow.

The thing about this one is that I am being influenced by the paintings of Georges Delatour which I've always loved. He was a renaissance guy, birlliant at doing candlelight scenes. I wanted the same warm glow that infuses some of his imagery, plus something close to the level of chiaroscuro typical of the period. I went for a combination of purples and greens for the darks, which warmed up more when I splashed a red wash of watercolour about on a layer set to multiply over things. If there had just been the one candle I wouldn't have done that - but with three throwing their light about I thought I could get away with it, to make it feel more like a warm interior scene.

[Caesar]

Superlative as usual, dear Nick! How long does it usually takes to You to complete one of this marvels? I was wondering because I've such little patience to plan and improve progressively a painting (and no contract to fulfill to help me being more accurate )

[pat1940]

Nick, your paintings are so fabulous and wonderful to look at, always a pleasure.....WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Selby]

Beautiful Nick

The candle light is entrancing me -like Caesar I marvel at your patience...prehaps ill grow some one day but for now I'll settle at admiring yours.

[Nickillus]

Many thanks for the nice comments and support chaps. Apologies for the delay in replying - deadline chases and all that.

Caesar - Not sure how log that candle piece took exactly. I was juggling that with another piece and also it followed a different route to normal because for the editorial its to support I had to go through one/two and three candle lighting schemes - which slowed it down somewhat. Probably about three to four days solid work?

Meanwhile here is a tiny bit more progress on that goblin, and some WIP stages from something else, equally unsavoury. I was wondering how vampires keep their clothes nice considering their reputed sleeping habits?

[MSIE]

it's amazing to see your paintings evolve! thanks a lot for sharing your WIPs

I love those mice, and the dress of lady vampire is awesome!

[Boxy]

it's amazing to see your paintings evolve! thanks a lot for sharing your WIPs

I love those mice, and the dress of lady vampire is awesome!

I agree, the critters are a superb detail, brilliant paintings.

[Caesar]

Dear Nick, I thought the goblin was finished, but then here's a further step I didn't even imagine possible. All that green around this character (a stunner in itself as well as the den or shelter he's in), the leaves, the grass look so natural, so perfectly detailed and vivid that I dropped my jaw! I don't know if it's a matter of layers or any other software than ArtRage or whatever else (apart Your unmatchable talent and skill), but it utmostly impressed me.

[PaperTree]

Oh, this work in progress is superb.

I like how you left in the bones of the WIP from the construction lines and perspective point of view of the first picture, through to the coffins being filled in and the mice even being out of focus as they speed away from inside of them to give a sense of motion.

To see how your thought process transforms into the more polished work is so very enlightening to me. You seem to construct from the inside out, creating a complete body first then constructing the scene (the coffin) round it. This is where the WIP tutorial is most advantageous to someone like me. What I am trying to say, is, that my most successful work is done from a photo, I draw what I see. If I attempt imaginary work I tackle it the same way and wonder why it does not turn out very well. Your WIPs (this thread in general) are very valuable for me to find a different approach.

Thank you, I know you must be busy, and I know that WIPs are sometimes time consuming to do but your efforts are not wasted, especially for someone teaching oneself.

[Nickillus]

Hi guys,
And many thanks yet again for the nice words.

Caesar - it's all ArtRage. Those leaves and grass are just a combo of some custom made stickers and painting back into it. Not happy with either yet. Depth and subtlety of colour and tone are built up with layers as you suspect.

Papertree - I don't know how else to do it when I'm working from scratch without reference. After some initial sketching to work out what I'm going to do, which is attached, I mark the thing out. I don't set up a perspective grid until after that, so that I am not tempted to get to hidebound by the technical stuff too early. Simply pin the corners of each ruler once you have the horizon line decided, then make that one disappear so it's not in the way. You can leave the others there and swing them out of the way as needed.