This piece depicts a High Priestess witch from the lunar coven. In her fantasy world, she attempts to bless a particular sword using chaos magic for mercenaries pursuing the darker path toward greater rewards.
Years of accumulated experience in the art industry have gone into this piece, as well as my desire to fully commit to illustration, complete with careful planning and drafting. Alongside this I also make use of reference material. Having references on your side really helps you along the way, especially when you have doubts halfway through the process.
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Gathering references
I started with a loose sketch. Real world references and a model for visual aid help a lot in this stage as they often carry the essence that people can recognise and resonate with.
To keep things on theme, I used Baroque and Rococo elements to fit the fantasy setting. For the clothes, I kept them long and big because witches generally don’t require large movements.
Adding shading
I tend to keep the light and shadow rough. Once I’m good with the values, I begin adding colours over the shading, similar to how a traditional oil painter builds up layers. Warm colours bring the viewer closer and act as a focal point to lead the eye.
Cool-tone rim lights add depth and act as an anchor to the composition: they lead the eye back to the warm tones.
Finishing touches
Polishing a painting part by part is integral to keeping it coherent and consistent. Do not rush it, or you will burn yourself out quickly. I would normally take breaks and days to complete each part, such as the face, hair, hands and so on.
When in doubt about refining the materials, use references and logically check how the surroundings reflect light onto them.
This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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