The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: Beastly Footman

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Beastly Footman - Trail and Errors

I am a little shocked that I have not posted a Beastly study in about a year. If you missed any of my previous Beastly creatures you can see them here: Beastly Caster, Beastly Fighter, Beastly Archer, Beastly Scribe, Beastly Pirate, Beastly Rider, Beastly Mercenary, Beastly Thug, Beastly Rifleman, and Beastly Swordsman.

This time around I wanted to try out some new media combinations and experiment a little. In the end, it was all a wash and I retired (destroyed) the final product for the good of mankind. As before, I am working from reference while modifying it into a more monstrous nature. The first stage of the experiment started easy enough with colored pencil on toned paper...

Beastly Footman - Stage 1

Colored pencil on paper

9 x 12

Nothing new here. I have been doing a lot of toned paper drawings the last couple years and I have really been enjoying it. What could I do to take what I am already doing a little further? Could I push it? Stage 2 introduced white acrylic paint and black ink...

Beastly Footman - Stage 2

Colored pencil, acrylic paint, and ink on paper

9 x 12

The whites and more white and the blacks are darker. All good in my book. I was really liking where this was going. Back going back in with a brush I could really add some fine detail and make sure highlights popped and the dark areas were dark enough. I felt that the forms in this stage 2 version were really nice. BUT, could I push it further? Was there more I could do? Stage 3 introduced more paint and ink as well as marker and a different colored pencil...

Beastly Footman - Stage 3

Colored pencil, acrylic paint, ink, and marker on paper

9 x 12

Aaaaaaaaaaand... too much. Maybe if I had not introduced the earth tone pencil... maybe if I had stopped at stage 2... maybe... blah blah blah. Live and learn, trial and error. MEH... what can I say, if I had not tried I would not have known. Sometimes what you are already doing IS working just fine. Not much else to say about this, but I HIGHLY recommend trying out new things as often as possible, it is the only way to really grow and develop.

As an added bonus, here is a bunch of images of the original drawing that went into making stage 1 so you can get a feel for how the drawing came together and took shape...